The Dragon Prince
by thewritersheart
Summary: "Lucy, I'm not sure how I feel about you going to the field every night alone. There's been rumors of some monster lurking in the woods there." With Erza's words lingering in her mind, Lucy knew she should have listened and steered clear of the woods. If only her curiosity had ears she was sure she would have gone straight home after what she saw. [STORY IS GOING TO BE REWRITTEN]
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One.**

The sunset shone brightly in Magnolia. It was a calm and quiet day too, Lucy noticed. She walked out of her little bakery and patted her flour clad hands on her apron. Shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight she looked up the street and smiled. It was a perfect day to go for a stroll and find a peaceful spot to sit and relax.

People were walking through the streets as they went to find their friends to chat with or to simply go shopping. Carriages rolled over the cobblestone streets as the wealthy ran their errands. Lucy waved at one passing by when a little girl leaned out the window and smiled at her.

Turning around she raised the apron over her head and hooked it on the coat-rack by the door. She swung the door shut and locked it as she set off down the streets.

"Thank you for the cookies, Ms. Lucy!" A little boy ran by as he bit into a chocolate chip cookie. "You're the best!" He pumped his fist into the air and Lucy had to hide a giggle behind her hand.

Her bakery, The Fairy's Delight, was well known in Magnolia. It was even well known in all of Fiore. People would come from all over to get a taste of her sweet treats. She didn't have an answer as to how or why it grown widely known. It was just a tiny cobblestone building on Main Street.

"How was your day, Ms. Heartfilia?" The flowershop owner, Pierce waved as he walked out of his shop to sweep the porch.

"It was great, thank you!" Lucy waved back and continued walking up the street. The sun was sinking lower and Lucy wanted to hurry to her favorite spot to gaze at the stars.

* * *

The clearing was beautiful in the moonlight. The tall grass danced with the breeze that blew through. Lucy sat in the middle of the empty field and leaned back on the palm of her hands. She pushed her hair behind her ears and closed her eyes as another gentle breeze whispered across her skin.

She looked up at the sky and a soft smile graced her lips. She loved to star gaze. Her mother had taught her every constellation she knew when she was little. It was her way of still communicating with her. She had passed away when Lucy was young.

"Hello stars," She spoke softly. She waved up at the night sky and leaned all the way down until she lay flat on her back. Only when she was comfortable did Lucy realize how tired she was. Before she could even think to get up and start walking home, her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

The woods around her were like a lullaby. The breeze rustling the grass and leaves on trees. Fireflies floating through the air, their soft glow seemed as though they were trying to match with the stars above. Lucy shivered in her sleep and curled up in a tight ball. It was cold, the November air.

Off in the distance a lone figure stared in her direction. His dark green eyes glowing in the motionless moonlit field. He looked as if he were going to head towards Lucy, but the woman suddenly sat up, shocked that she had fallen asleep. Startled, the man backtracked into the woods, disappearing from sight before Lucy could notice him.

She sat there shivering from the cold, she felt ridiculous for falling asleep outside! She looked all around her and shuddered, but not from the chilly air this time. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, she felt as though someone had been watching her. She brushed away any grass and dirt that had found it's way into her hair and stood up, brushing any dirt from her dress as well.

Looking up at the sky again, Lucy frowned wistfully. Oh how she wished she could be in her mother's arms again, pointing at the constellations and making up a couple of her own. Holding her hand towards the sky, her finger traced the outline of two hearts. "I miss you, Momma," She whispered and turned to head back to town. She was exhausted.

She found herself to be reluctant to leave though. Just once, she'd like to spend the night out in the field. She gazed back at the empty clearing behind her and froze. In the woods she could see a pair of glowing eyes boring into her. She gasped and turned all the way around, but when she looked a second time, the eyes were gone.

"I thought I saw..." Lucy trailed off and shook her head. "Lucy, you're tired. Just go home and get some sleep before you see something else and scare yourself to death!" With that, the blonde girl trudged up the hill and marched herself home.

* * *

Walking the empty night streets of Magnolia, Lucy still found herself surprised by how much quieter the town became. Not as many people walked about, barely any carriages rolled through with horses trotting along.

The houses and shops were much different, too. Instead of light streaming out of the windows, moonlight streamed in. Every normal person would be sound asleep at such a late hour.

She turned onto Strawberry Street and smiled when she saw the apartment she shared with her two best friends. It was a simple two story building, it was old, but it held itself together. The orange painted walls were chipping in places all over and the roof's brown shingles were discolored and old. It was in a desperate need of fixing, because whenever it rained it had a horrible leak.

Fishing her keys from her pocket, Lucy yawned. She was so tired. She wasn't as shocked she had fallen asleep in that clearing anymore. It had been so calm and peaceful there.

She unlocked the door and stepped inside, stepping out of her boots she stretched. She heard footsteps bouncing down the stairs and cringed when she saw Levy walk up to her with an irritated look.

Levy, one of the two friends she shared an apartment with, had blue hair that stuck up and went in every direction. It was a wild hair style, but it suit her so well. She was a petite woman with a quite a big love for books, which was what made Lucy and Levy friends right away. The dresses Levy usually wore were short with leggings underneath. Today she wore a bright orange dress with a bandanna in her hair to match.

"Lu, were you star gazing again?" She asked when Lucy closed the door. When Lucy nodded her head and Levy sighed. "It would be nice if you told me when you go to that clearing. I worry about you when I don't know when you're coming home!" Her friend put her fists on her hips and glared up at her.

"Sorry, Levy," Lucy giggled and hugged her friend. "I'm going to start doing it more frequently, it helps me relax."

"Levy, quit mothering poor Lucy!" Erza laughed as she walked down the stairs and joined their conversation. Erza was a woman with stunning and intimidating beauty. She was terrifying when she was angry. Her hair was startling scarlet red, but it made her beauty stand out even more. She was a woman who was always prepared for anything, and Lucy admired her for that. Her normal attire consisted of a white blouse and short blue skirt.

Erza was the other woman that Lucy shared the apartment with. They all pitched in together to pay for the rent. Levy ran a bookstore and Erza was a blacksmith. Lucy snickered when she spotted a dab of soot Erza had missed on her forehead.

"Levy, did you just let her walk around like this?" Lucy scolded and reached up to rub the soot spot away. Erza blushed and ran to the mirror that hung on the wall by the front door and Levy giggled to herself.

Lucy walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch. Groaning when she sprawled out on the soft cushions. Hearing something scratching against the wood and running in her direction, Lucy barely had time to prepare herself when her dog Plue launched himself on the couch and directly at Lucy's face. The girl squeaked when he licked her face and she shoved him away gently.

"Plue, calm down! Goodness, boy! You'd think it'd been a million years since I last saw you!" She ruffled the fur along his neck and snickered when he started thumping his back paw in approval. He yipped happily and wagged his tail so quickly his whole body was trembling. "You are hilariously adorable, you know that?" Lucy laughed and scratched behind his ear.

"He wouldn't stop whining when we got home, he really does love you, Lu!" Levy smiled and sat down in the chair across from the couch.

Erza walked in and sat down at the end of the couch, near Lucy's feet. She wore a worried expression and directed it towards Lucy. "Lucy, I'm not sure how I feel about you going to the field every night alone. There's been rumors of some monster lurking in the woods around there."

Maybe those glowing eyes weren't her tired mind playing tricks on her. Lucy felt the air around go frigid. She loved going out there, though, and if Erza knew of what Lucy had seen, she was sure the woman would never let her go out there by herself again.

"Erza, rumors are just rumors, and besides didn't you just scold Levy for mothering me? I'm also going to assume you heard this from Mira?" Lucy raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes when Erza averted her gaze. "You know Mira is nothing but a big rumor weed!" Lucy laughed and she sat up, careful as to not cause Plue to crash to the hard wood floor. "I know you're worried about me, and I'm glad you care, but if there is something out there, I can assure you I'll be able to protect myself. After all, you're the one who taught me how to handle a sword when I first came to Magnolia three years ago!"

"While that is true, but I still want you to be alert and careful." Erza smiled and reached over to ruffle Plue's fur. "I say we all call it a night. I had a very busy day at Iron Work's and I am exhausted. Oh, and Levy? Gajeel couldn't stop talking about you." Erza winked as she got up and left to go to her room for the night.

Levy's face turned bright pink and she looked down at the ground. "R-Really? Okay..." She trailed off and her hands flew to her face. Lucy smirked at the flustered girl and squealed when her friend threw one of the throw pillows at her. "Don't laugh at me!" Levy puffed her cheeks up in irritation and Lucy snorted. Erza's laughter could be heard from upstairs.

"You're just too cute, how can I not laugh at your flustered face?" Lucy stuck her tongue out and gasped when Levy charged at her. Her friend tackled her on the couch and started tickling her. Lucy screeched in laughter and tried to shove Levy away. "St-stop!" Lucy cried between laughs and rolled so far onto her side that she sent the two of them crashing to the hard wood floors.

Poor Plue had been caught in the middle of the fight. He scrambled out from underneath Levy's stomach and ran across Lucy's face as he bolted upstairs. Lucy blinked at Levy and Levy just stared at Lucy. The two erupted into a fit of laughter and Levy stood up. She helped Lucy to her feet and wiped a tear that had come to her eye from laughing so hard.

"Okay, okay, truce?" Levy wheezed as her giggles were still fading. Lucy nodded as she held her stomach that had started cramping from her snorting laughs.

"Truce," She smiled and a yawn parted from her lips. "Erza has the right idea, though. I'm going to bed, too. You wouldn't believe how busy it was at the bakery today! I swear I get more and more people everyday!"

"That's because you and your treats are super sweet!" Levy winked and began to trot up the red carpeted stairs. "Nobody can get enough of the sweet Lucy Heartfilia and her delicious delights!" She sang and Lucy snorted.

"Yeah, well, if nobody can get enough of me, then why hasn't my prince charming shown?" She followed Levy up the stairs and sighed. "You're lucky, you've found the man of your dreams and that he has found you. Me? I'm still searching, and it's a lonely search at that." Lucy pouted, but forced a smile, "At least I have great friends to keep me company, though."

"Aww, Lu! You'll find someone, I just know it!" Levy gave her friend an encouraging smile and light punch to the shoulder when they reached the top of the stairs. "Well, I'm off to bed, nighty-night Lu!" Levy gave her a goodnight hug and opened her bedroom door.

"Good night, Levy," Lucy smiled and quietly stepped down the hall to her bedroom. Plue was waiting for her by the door and she grinned when he wagged his tail in greeting.

She opened her door and almost tripped over the dash of fluffy white that was Plue bolting to her bed. She closed the door behind her and stretched her arms above her head. She stared at her bed longingly and just about forgot that she was still in her day clothes.

She shook her head at her mistake and moved toward her dresser, pulling out her nightgown. Tugging her dress over her head she huffed when she saw all the flour and batter stains on the fabric. Even with the apron, Lucy never failed to get her dresses all messy. She tugged her nightgown over her head, and let her hair that had been held up in a tight bun fall free. She had to keep her hair up to avoid getting any of it in the food, that would make her loose customers real quick, and the fact that it was disgusting to discover things like that in food made her wrinkle her nose.

Closing her eyes, Lucy imagined that her knight in shining armor was standing right before her. She curtsied and looked up at the empty air. She stood up straight again and held her arms out before her as if she was waltzing. She danced around the room in her daydream and giggled when Plue started racing round her feet. She started humming music for her to dance to and she bent down, picking up the small dog and deciding to dance with him as her prince.

She was so consumed in dancing with her beloved 'prince' that she failed to notice that she was backing up towards her bed. The back of her knees hit the mattress and she fell back onto the soft surface with a quick bounce. Plue was not so fortunate. He sailed all the way to her pillow where he got a muzzle full of feathers.

Reminding herself that the others were asleep, Lucy had to cover her mouth from laughing. She crawled over to Plue and wrapped her arms around him as she scratched him behind his ear as an apology. Leaning back until her head was resting on her soft pillow, Lucy closed her eyes. Plue curled up on her stomach and the two fell asleep just like that.

What Lucy failed to notice was the silhouette of a man sitting on the rooftop of the house next to the apartment. The same dark green eyes glowing brightly. Plue, however; did notice. The dog jumped up and ran to the windowsill above Lucy's bed and barked at the man gazing in. Lucy stirred in her sleep and in one swift move, the man was gone.

All Lucy could hear was the sound of wings hitting the air. She ignored it in her sleepy state and batted her hand at Plue to be quiet. The small dog whimpered and whined. Nervously looking out the window before settling beside his master to try and go back to sleep.

* * *

 **Okay I know I haven't updated Something More yet, but ohmyword this AU was screaming to be written. SCREAMING I SAY! I may be putting Something More on hold, I have a writer's block against it and it is so heavy I have a hard time writing. Everything I've for the next chapter so far has been trash and ugh, I really hate writer's block.**

 **SO AS YOU GUYS WAIT, please! Enjoy this NaLu AU.**

 **It's going to go along the lines of The Swan Princess fairy tale. But this time, Lucy isn't a princess ;)**

 **Guys, please leave reviews. They help me want to write more and they encourage me so much you don't even know. I want to improve and I know that reviews will definitely help that.**

 ** _Books books and books~_**

 ** _So, I've been rereading PJO and wow, I have missed Percy's POV so much you don't even KNOW! HOO seriously is know match for PJO imo. I like it and all but the last book Blood of Olympus was a bit a disappointment :/ I still love the series but the last book could've been so much better. I feel like Rick may have rushed himself. But ohwell. I'm satisfied... I guess. After I finish The Last Olympian I have a lot of new books to read this summer. A total of... seventeen I think? twelve? I'm not sure. I JUST HAVE A LOT OF THINGS TO READ._**

 **So, anyway. Until next to my lovelies, and please, leave a review if you can~**

 **Edit: You know, it really helps to proofread. -shudder- The amount of typos in this was ridiculous!**


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two.**

Lucy awoke the next morning freezing cold. She grumbled when she realized she had failed to cover herself with her warm blankets before falling asleep. Patting her hand around to find the edge of said blankets, Lucy peeped an eye open. It was early morning, she guessed from the gray sunlight pouring into her room. Meaning it was time to get up and go get things ready at the bakery.

She let loose another noise of complaint. Sometimes, she wished she could just lazy about with life. Forget her responsibilities and just do nothing. She smiled at the daydream. It sounded so lovely.

Sitting up she rubbed her eyes free from their grogginess. She heard a yelped yawn beside her and looked down to see Plue stretching. "Good morning, boy." She whispered and scratched the underside of his chin. He licked her fingers in a way of thanks for the wonderful good morning gift.

Lucy sat up straight and crawled over to the window by her bed. Pushing it open, she leaned on the open windowsill. She crossed her arms and rested her chin in the nest of them and gazed at the morning buzz of Magnolia. People were waking up, excited for the start of a new day. Birds were chirping and the liveliness of the city streets below made Lucy smile.

She'd always loved watching the city early in the mornings. It was soothing and helped her wake up. Besides, if she waited long enough, she'd be just in time for breakfast downstairs. It was Levy's turn to make breakfast today and Lucy could already smell the eggs and bacon. She hummed at the tasty aroma.

Plue could smell it too, it seemed. He had jumped down from her bed and was now prancing around the wooden floor of her bedroom. Scratching at her closed door and whimpering loudly. He looked back at her with pleading eyes. As if to say "Let me out! They're having breakfast without me!"

"Alright, alright, just let get some socks on. I hate how cold the floors are..." Lucy grumbled, she closed her window, and then tip-toed all the way to her dresser, which was on the opposite side of the room. Slipping some socks on, Lucy wiggled her toes and slid to her door.

Clumsily, she lost her balance and instead of gracefully coming to stop so she could open the door, she slammed right into it. The door burst open and she fell flat on her face. Lifting her head up form the hard floor, Lucy grunted when Plue bounced off of her head and raced downstairs. She stood up to her feet and very carefully, so as not to slip down the stairs, she hurried to the kitchen.

Breakfast was waiting on the table, and Lucy licked her lips. Erza had just sat down piling her plate up with food. Levy sat beside her and the two gave Lucy a groggy good morning. Returning the good morning, Lucy took her seat beside Erza and started filling up her plate right away.

She took a bit of the bacon and sighed. "Levy, you cook so well~" She hummed, reaching for an empty cup and the pitcher of milk. Pouring her a glass she took a sip to wash it down with the bacon. "Thank you for breakfast," Lucy smiled and Levy grumpily nodded her head.

Levy, Erza, and Lucy were never the morning types. It was on rare occasion to see them bouncing around with a smile on their face like Lucy had been that morning. The three of them combined on a regular morning was a silent and frightening encounter.

Someone pounded at the door, startling the group enjoying their quiet meal. Levy and Erza glared at the front door and Lucy took that as it was her chore to answer it. Huffing grumpily, she stood up and patted down her hair. She hadn't bothered to get dressed before breakfast today and she was starting to regret that decision.

Lucy opened the front door and jumped back, completely baffled by who was standing there. The man was tall, broad shouldered with what looked like a permanent frown on his face. He had piercings where his eyebrows should've been, on either side of his nose, down his chin, and in his ears. It was a frightening look, but he was able to pull it off. His jet black hair was very long, ending at his lower back and so spiky it looked sharp.

"Gihi, good mornin'," He greeted, his frown turning into a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, morning Gajeel!" Lucy raised her voice loud enough for Levy to hear. She heard a fork clatter with a plate and the scrambling of feet. Pulling the door shut a little bit, Lucy stood in the opening as she saw Levy dart towards the stairs from the corner of her eye. "What brings you here so early in the day?"

"Just wanted to stop by and give this to Levy, she let me borrow the book... is she awake? I'd like to talk to her about it." He pointed to the book held in his hand. From the title of it, Lucy recognized it as the book she had given to Levy for her birthday.

"Yes, she's awake, she made us breakfast today! Want to come in and fix yourself a plate?"

"I was hopin' you'd offer." Gajeel chuckled and Lucy stepped back to let him inside. "Oh, and nice bedhead there, Bunny Girl."

"Quit calling me that!" Lucy sputtered and started patting her hands down over her hair. "Why- ugh! Shut up!" She felt her face turn red from anger and she growled when Gajeel cackled loudly.

He made his way to the kitchen and plopped down in the seat across from Erza. He started piling food on his plate, ignoring how Erza's face darkened and she looked about ready to tear him down. Lucy scoffed, she would never know what Levy saw in a man who clearly had no idea what manners were.

Lucy turned to go upstairs, she wanted to get dressed before Gajeel started teasing her about her bedhead again. She trotted up to the empty hallway and skipped into her room. She walked over to her vanity, which sat at the end of her bed. She sat down in the chair in front of it and started brushing out her hair. She drew it up in a tight bun again and checked it from all angles. She nodded her head when she was happy with the outcome of the up-do.

She stood up from her chair and opened up her dresser again. She pulled out a plain brown dress, one of the many that she reserved for working in the bakery. She moved to close the door to her bedroom when she heard hastened footsteps running towards her.

"Lucy, Lucy! You gotta help me! I'm having a bad hair day!" Levy ran in wide eyed and terrified.

"Oh... dear," Lucy took one look at Levy's hair and both of her hands shot up to cover her mouth in shock. Her dress fell to the ground, ignored.

Levy's hair was even worse than usual. One side was flat against her head while the other side stuck out wildly. It was obvious Levy had slept like a rock the night before. Lucy guided her friend to sit at the vanity and started brushing her hair out.

"Levy, how do you even work with your hair? It's ridiculously stubborn!" Lucy said as she reached down for a bandanna. "We'll just have to cover it up with something, but considering you wear a bandanna everyday nobody will know the difference." She gave her a friend a thumbs up through the mirror.

"I feel so stupid," Levy grumbled, "Used to, I wouldn't care if my hair looked like this, but now... Why does he make me feel this way? It should be illegal, the way he makes me feel!" She puffed her cheeks up in irritation and Lucy snorted.

"It's called being in love, dummy." Lucy poked Levy's cheeks and sighed. "Okay, you look great! The bandanna looks good in your hair and you can't even see the disaster underneath!" Lucy put her hands on her hips and nodded her head in approval with her works. "You look adorable."

Levy blushed and fiddled with the knot Lucy had tied the ends of the bandanna in. She smiled at her reflection and the covered her face with her hands. "I totally could have done this myself, but I was too flustered to do anything right! Lucy I don't like this!" She complained and gave her friend a miserable frown.

"Mmhm, and once he compliments you, you'll be up on cloud nine and saying you love it." Lucy replied, giving her friend a knowing look through the mirror. Levy blushed and glared back, she knew Lucy was right. Lucy smacked her friend on the shoulder, "Now, go on down there! I need to get ready! I'm going to run late if I don't hurry."

"Okay, and thank you, Lu!" Levy beamed and raced out of Lucy's room, closing the door behind her.

Lucy rolled her eyes, Levy was obviously head over heels for Gajeel. Gajeel was also head over heels for Levy, but he hid it (he didn't hide it very well, but he tried.) Lucy stared at her reflection. She wished she could find a man to fall head over heels for. Sighing, she moved to where her brown dress had been left unattended on the bare floor. She picked it up and traded it with her nightgown.

While she got ready for the day, Lucy daydreamed. She imagined what the man of her dreams would look like and act like. Tall, blonde hair, blue eyes, would be his features. He would be a man who had been taught etiquette and knew his manners very well. He would be calm, mature, mysterious, and wise.

She knew her ideas of a man were very rare to find, but she couldn't help it. She dreamed of a prince coming to her on a white stallion. She dreamed of her knight and shining armor every chance she got.

Buttoning the collar of her dress, Lucy checked her appearance in the mirror. Confident with her looks, Lucy beamed at herself. She looked very pretty, even if she did say so herself. She turned around and plucked her blue jacket from the hook on her door. She shouldered it on and stuffed her keys in her pocket.

She rushed out of her room and hurried downstairs into the kitchen. She grabbed a last few bites of bacon and eggs, downed her cup of milk and said a quick farewell to her friends. Groaning when Gajeel yelled "Bye, Bunny Girl!" Where, when, and how he had come up with that nickname, Lucy had no idea. She could only hope that he would forget it and it would never come back, but she knew that was wishful thinking.

Once outside she slowed down her walk. She really didn't have any hours for the bakery to be open. No matter how early she got her shop, there'd be people waiting. What they didn't know was that it took awhile for things to bake and cool. Looking down the street she smiled as she passed by familiar faces.

"Oh, Ms. Heartfilia!" Cassie, Lucy's neighbor ran up to her. The woman was the mother of three children and a widow. "I want to thank you for supplying my family with bread when we needed it most, so I thought I'd give you this carton of eggs. No, no don't fuss! My chickens lay eggs ridiculously fast and I want to thank you. You are such a kind woman. Your parents should be proud of you!" The woman shoved a carton of eggs towards her and Lucy blink down at them. She remembered helping Cassie's family, but she had never expected getting anything in return. Lucy just knew that if she had been Cassie, she would have been wanting to meet her children's needs before her own. She did her best to help people, and she always told them to never bother in 'making up for it'. Lucy thought that doing a good deed was only a good deed if it came from the bottom of someone's heart and when they didn't ask or expect anything in return.

Lucy's heart fluttered at that last comment and she looked at the carton of eggs she was handing to her. "Thank you so much! I was going to need to buy some more later today, and now I won't have to close the bakery to run an errand, this helps a lot! Thank you!" Lucy hugged the woman in gratitude and smiled at her gently.

Now carrying a carton of eggs and her day brightened from Cassie's compliment, Lucy was beaming from ear to ear. She waved at people passing by, greeting them with good mornings full of cheer and joyful laughter. She turned onto Main Street and could already see people lining up outside of her shop. Knowing she'd be worked to the limit again today watered down her mood a bit, but the thought of going to the field to stargaze that night put a skip in her step again.

"Okay everyone, I'm going to get everything set up before I can take orders! It will take maybe ten minutes, but once I am finished I will open up shop!" Lucy announced as she approached the giant mob of people. Some cheered, others groaned in complaint about having to wait.

Shouldering and elbowing her way through the crowd, Lucy nearly dropped the carton of eggs numerous times. She stumbled up onto the steps leading into the bakery and let out a deep breath. She was going to need a bigger building and helpers, soon. She dug her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the bakery door. She cracked it open and squeezed through the small opening, she didn't want to risk anyone else worming their way in with her.

She shut and locked the door behind her and took off her jacket. Hanging it up on the coat rack by the door she grabbed her apron and tied it around her waist. She looked around her shop and huffed. She had some work to do.

The shop inside was bigger than what one would expect from the looks of the shop outside. It was still too small for the amount of people outside, though. Running into the kitchen, Lucy lit a fire to get the oven going. Setting up the kitchen and bakery was like a dance. She would scrub the wooden counters, mop the floors and beat the curtains. Then she would dash back to the kitchen to get the batter and baking supplies ready.

Mixing numerous bowls of cake batter and kneading bread dough, Lucy cast nervous glances to the front door of her bakery. She snorted when she saw children's faces pressed up against the glass and adults peeking in, looking for her. Setting a sheet of cookies in the oven, Lucy rushed to the door of the bakery.

"Welcome! Come in!" She yelled over the noise of the crowd when she opened up. She barely had time to jump back and bolt behind the front counter before people were bombarding her with orders.

"Chocolate chip cookies!"

"Cinnamon bread!"

"Rolls!"

"Strawberry cake!"

Her hand scribbling down the orders looked like it was merely twitching, she was writing so fast. She skipped back into the kitchen, pulling the cookies out of the oven and replacing them with cakes and breads that needed to rise. She set the cookie sheet on the counter and hurriedly served them on a platter.

"Chocolate chip cookies, coming right up!" She called as she peeked out the window in the kitchen wall. People were waving jewels at her, children reaching up with grabby hands over the counter.

The rest of her day was very much similar to what the morning buzz of The Fairy's Delight consisted of. She rushed around cleaning messes and starting new ones. Her elbows were covered in flour, cake batter, cookie dough, and yeast.

Before Lucy knew it, the sun was beginning to set. She gave a bag of cookies and bread to her last costumer and collapsed in the chair behind the counter, exhausted. Looking around the bakery, Lucy raised an eyebrow when she noticed a figure sitting in the corner by themselves. She thought she had just served her last customer.

She got up with difficulty, but managed to grab a blank piece of paper and a pencil. She walked to the person sitting at the window ready to scribble down their order. "Welcome to The Fairy's Delight, what would you like?" She asked and cringed at how tired she sounded.

"Oh, Juvia doesn't want anything, but thank you," The woman replied and Lucy raised an eyebrow. Was she waiting for a friend? She was confused by her answer. She had asked the woman, not a Juvia. The woman looked very lonely sitting there by herself. She was beautiful, Lucy noticed. She also seemed to love the color blue. That was the only color she wore, her dress and shawl were two different shades of blue, the dress being a light sky blue, the shawl a dark navy. The only other color she wore was on the hat she wore, a yellow flower that stood out and was as bright as the sun. "Juvia said she doesn't want anything..." The woman repeated herself a little more nervously and Lucy flinched.

"I'm sorry! I... uh, I didn't know you were talking about yourself." She gave the woman, whom Lucy now knew as to be Juvia, a sheepish grin. Pointing at the empty chair across from Juvia, Lucy asked, "So you don't mind if I sit here?"

"Juvia would love to talk with someone!" The woman gasped and her eyes lit up like a clear sky in the middle of the afternoon. She sat up straight and tucked her hair behind her ears. "What is it like working in a bakery? Juvia is curious!"

"Well, um, if you'd like to know so badly you could work here?" Lucy shrugged unsure and jumped back when Juvia gasped.

"You mean that? Oh, Juvia would love to work in a bakery! You must show her what to do!" She reached across and grabbed Lucy's hands and then stopped short. "But first, what is your name?" Juvia giggled and Lucy smiled.

"I'm Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia. C'mon Juvia, I can show you around if you'd like. There isn't much to see though."

"Juvia does not mind, Lucy!"

Showing Juvia around the shop had been a fun experience for both women. When Lucy walked into the kitchen, Juvia excitement bubbled over and she pranced around the counters and peeked into the empty oven. Amused, Lucy watched as Juvia picked up one of the bread pans and then a cookie sheet. Before Lucy could stop her, Juvia was going around cleaning the entire kitchen.

"You don't have-

"Yes, Juvia has to clean!" Juvia cut her off and sent her a pouting glare. "If Juvia wants to work at Fairy's Delight, she must help clean!"

Lucy wondered why Juvia wanted to work at her bakery so much, but she didn't complain. She had been wishing for help and it had been answered. She sent a silent thanks to whoever had been listening to her pleas. If only they would answer her wishes for a man in her life.

Lucy grabbed the mop and broom and moved into the dining are of the bakery. She swept all the dirt and dust away and mopped away any mud that had been tracked in. She could hear Juvia working hard from the kitchen and that's when it struck her.

She had just welcomed a complete stranger into her bakery as a worker. She didn't even know the woman! She smacked her hand against her forehead and sighed. She would have to interview Juvia after this. Even if the woman already showed that she was sweet, kind, and tenderhearted, Lucy still needed to make sure she was fit for the job.

Once they finished in their separate rooms, Lucy and Juvia worked together to clean the windows and counters. It was a difficult task, for the windows were tall and started at the floor and reached to the ceiling. Lucy had to stand on a chair to make the glass shine and squeaky clean.

"Juvia thinks she and Ms. Lucy did a lovely job!" Juvia clapped her hands when the two finished up. They were sitting at one of the tables in the dining area, exhausted and sore.

"So, Juvia, I know you want to work here, but before you can, I need to interview you, so I can know more about you," Lucy decided to get straight to the point. She sat up straight and gave Juvia an apologetic grin, "I was so excited about having someone to work with I forgot there was a certain way of going about this."

"Oh, Juvia knows! She was going to ask you about it if there hadn't been one before we closed up the shop." She giggled and Lucy raised an eyebrow. She was beginning to see Juvia was very trustworthy.

"Well, then let's get started!" Lucy smiled and started interviewing Juvia.

Lucy learned many things about Juvia. She learned that Juvia came from a rough background. A place where she and an old friend used to work was horrible, the people there mistreated Juvia a lot. She and her friend left, but Juvia hadn't seen her friend since. She claimed that she came to Magnolia searching for her friend after hearing he had opened up a shop somewhere. Lucy also learned that Juvia wasn't that good of a cook or baker. Seeing her hopes falter, Juvia quickly intervened, "Juvia will help with the front of the store, she can take orders and deliver them! Then, after she's been here long enough, maybe you could teach her to bake?" Lucy decided to agree to the deal.

She was in desperate need of help anyway.

"So, Juvia, where are you staying?" Lucy asked when they were locking up shop. "Oh and after you've worked here for a week, I can go to see the locksmith about making a spare key for you." Hanging up her apron, Lucy shrugged on her jacket. She shut and locked the door behind her and jumped down the steps, falling into step with Juvia.

Juvia grew quiet. She looked almost ashamed. The woman wouldn't meet eyes with Lucy and that's when her suspicions rose. Lucy stopped walking and crossed her arms over her chest. She raised an eyebrow at Juvia and began to tap her foot.

"You don't have anywhere to stay, do you?" She confronted her and her frown deepened when Juvia tensed. "Well, c'mon, you're staying with me and my friends then. We'll set you up on the couch in the living room. I just hope Erza doesn't get too angry with me."

"You really mean it?" Juvia spoke from beside her. She looked at Lucy with wide eyes and when she nodded her head, Juvia tackled Lucy with a hug. "Thank you! Juvia wasn't sure what she was going to do if she couldn't find a place to stay..."

"Well, I couldn't just leave you to sleep outside in the frigid cold, now could I?" Lucy laughed and grabbed Juvia's hand. She tugged her up the streets of Magnolia that were growing emptier and emptier as the sunset lowered.

* * *

On the way back to the apartment, Lucy noticed someone walking up ahead. Upon recognizing the long jet black hair to be Gajeel's she urged Juvia to hurry. The two raced up the street following after Gajeel who seemed to be headed in the same direction.

"Gajeel!" Lucy called out and waved her arm in greeting.

"Gaje-" Juvia cut off and slapped her hands across her mouth. "Gajeel!" She cried out and Lucy was baffled to see tears rush to her eyes.

Hearing his name being called numerous times, Gajeel turned around, looking rather irritated. He sent a look at Lucy and then yelled when Juvia came crashing into him. The two were sent to the ground and Gajeel groaned from under Juvia.

Lucy stood frozen in place. How did Juvia know Gajeel? Did Gajeel know Juvia as well? It was all rather confusing.

"Juvia? What are ya doin' here?" Gajeel looked at Juvia just as shocked and baffled as Lucy. Though his confusion had a delighted air to it. He tried to get up, but the fact that Juvia was sitting on top of him restricted him from doing just that. "Would you mind gettin' off?" He growled and Juvia snickered.

"Sorry Gajeel! Juvia just did not expect to see you here! She is so happy to have found you!" She stood up and twisted on her feet. "She was very lonely without you," She pouted.

Lucy's eyebrows felt like they were close to touching the sky by now. What was their relationship? They weren't together were they? She brought a hand to her lips, 'Poor Levy!' Her mind said and she narrowed her eyes at Gajeel. If he was already with a woman then what was he doing going around leading Levy on?

"Oi, Bunny Girl. Whatever that silly mind of yers is thinkin', it's wrong. Juvia and I are close buddies." He stated when he stood up. He walked over and flicked Lucy in the nose. "Get that mind out of the gutter, Bunny Girl."

"Do not call me that!" Lucy huffed as she rubbed her nose. "Juvia, is Gajeel the close friend that you were telling me about?"

"Yes! Gajeel and Juvia are old friends!" Juvia bounced on her feet and giggled. "Gajeel, you must tell me everything about Magnolia! Juvia wants to know what she missed!" She tugged on his arm and smiled up at him, blinking her big blue eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, but that'll have to wait for tomorrow. I gotta date, ya see?" Gajeel's voice got lower and lower with every word causing Lucy to gasp. Gajeel cringed and shot a glare full of daggers in her direction. "Keep your nose out of this, Bunny Girl. I swear you're worse than Mira!" He cackled and started walking. "You girls headed for the apartment, cuz that's where I'm goin' right now."

"Yes, we were headed in that way." Lucy nodded, and looked up the road wistfully. They were right on the corner that turned onto Strawberry Street. Her feet were itching to take her to the clearing again. She longed to star gaze. "I was going to watch the stars, but..."

"Go watch the stars, Lucy! Gajeel can take Juvia to the apartment, Juvia will explain everything to... Erza and Levy? Yes, and Gajeel can help!"

"No, I couldn't shove that on you two." Lucy shook her head. "It's my responsibility to explain everything and Erza would probably get mad at me for going to the clearing alone again. Let's just go home." She sighed and looked up at the sky that was beginning to grow dark. "I can always watch them from my bedroom window, anyway."

The trio set off down Strawberry Street heading back to the apartment Lucy shared with Erza and Levy. Even though part of her desperately wanted to go running to the field to watch the night sky, part of her was excited to get to bed early. She found herself walking faster as the three of them neared the orange building.

When Lucy walked through the front door with Gajeel and Juvia close behind, she gave a brief explanation to Erza. The woman wasn't mad like Lucy had feared. Before Lucy could throw any teases at Levy, the petite woman was rushing out the door with Gajeel, their arms intertwined.

After setting up the couch for Juvia to sleep on, Lucy ate a quick dinner and dismissed herself to the bathroom. She soaked in the bathtub for an hour and was very hesitant to get out. She dipped her chin in the water and glared at the drain that seemed to be taunting her. She loved taking baths after a long day at the bakery, but the worst part was getting out of the warm water!

When she did get out, she found her exhaustion to be more relaxing. She changed into her night gown again and walked into the hallway, nearly tripping over Plue. He had been sitting up against the door to the bathroom waiting for Lucy to get out. She picked him up and snuggled Plue close to her chest when he seemed to be shaking from the cold winter air.

She padded to her room and sat down on her bed. She was still upset about not going to the clearing. She had a half a mind to sneak out and go right then, but she thought better of it. Had Erza found out she was missing, Lucy would be in major trouble. So instead, she settled on her bed and leaned against the windowsill, pressing her forehead to the freezing glass. She stared up at what stars she could see and rubbed Plue's soft fur.

"Sorry I couldn't go to our usual spot," She whispered, "So much happened today and I just didn't have time. I'll be there tomorrow, though! Tomorrow is the day the bakery is closed and I'll be able to stay as long as I like... that is if Erza allows it. She gets too protective, you know? Oh, and Levy does too, but that just means they care about me, Momma. Just like they love me, I love them as well." Lucy smiled. "I also made a new friend today! Her name is Juvia, and she is a very pretty woman. She and Gajeel are best friends, apparently. I can't wait to hear the story behind that, but... until then... I'm going to get some sleep." She was beginning to yawn with every other sentence and the blankets and pillow of her bed were beckoning to her.

Feeling her eyes begin droop, Lucy crawled under the blankets and closed her eyes. Plue curled up on her belly, resting his muzzle against her breasts, he whined a tired yawn before closing his eyes to sleep as well.

What Lucy failed to notice, was how her window had been cracked open. She also failed to notice the small figure of a cat sitting in the flowerbox of her window, blinking curiously at her and the little dog settled on her stomach. A soft breeze floated through the room, stirring the curtains and blocking any view outside the window. When the curtains settled once more, the strange cat was gone. Just like the strange man had mysteriously shown and vanished the night before.

* * *

 **Ohhhh wow! Thank you for the review guys! So much encouragement! ^^ I couldn't/can't stop smiling at all the wonderful comments! I won't always update everyday, but I will update quite a bit! I'm on summer break so I have lots of free time! Please keep the reviews coming, they were very helpful!**

 _ **Books Books and Books~ (butnotreallybci'mnottalkingaboutbookstodaykinda)**_

 _ **I went to the library today and turned in this book that I had had a hard time getting into, and while I was there I signed up for the writing contest! I didn't submit anything NaLu or any fanfic of something though. I submitted an 'informal essay' is what they called it, but when I wrote it, it just me venting to a piece of paper. I hope I do well! I don't know if I'll win any of the prizes, but I feel very proud for signing up. Normally I'd be too shy and self-conscience to do something like that...**_

 **So, anyway I hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter! Until next time my lovelies, and please, leave a review if you can~**


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

The cool breeze was what woke Lucy. It fiddled with her hair and somehow found it's way under the blankets of her bed, tickling her skin and causing her to shiver. Her teeth chattered and she pulled the warm covers over her head. She nuzzled her face even deeper in her pillow and sighed. She loved to sleep in on days the bakery was closed.

She groaned when a blast of cold air whistled through her open window and her eyes fluttered open. She lazily looked all around the room and yawned as she sat up. The covers toppled off of her and pooled around her waist. When more cold air her back, she raised the blankets over her shoulders and turned around to close it.

She faced the inside of her room again, about to flop onto her side and go back to sleep when her heart hammered to a stop. She whipped around to stare at her window and gasped when she realized that she had just closed it. She jumped to her feet, and stumbled back a few steps. The blankets twisted around her legs and she fell to the floor with a harsh thud.

She had never opened her window! Lucy brought a hand up to her chest and ran her free one through her tangled blonde locks. Maybe she opened it last night when she had been stargazing and just forgot to close it? No, she shook her head. She looked at her window, frightened. Someone had to have opened it.

Lucy's eyes darted all over the room. If someone had opened her window, didn't that mean they had come in? What if they were still in her room? She looked under her bed, but all she saw was dust. She checked her closet, but only her formal dresses were in there.

Trying to calm her rapid heart beat, Lucy turned her eyes to her bedroom door. It was wide open, had she left it open? She didn't remember leaving it open. She stood up slowly and crept towards the door. Poking her head out of the door way she came face to face with someone.

"AAAAHHH!" Lucy screamed and jumped up so high that she fell flat on her back. She was a tangled mess of blankets and she squirmed in the fluffy covers afraid of what waited on the other side of that wall.

"Lucy! It is only Juvia!" The said woman peeped, she leaned in the doorway and blinked at Lucy with wide blue eyes. The two stared at each other for a moment and then Juvia snorted. Her laughs echoed in Lucy's room.

Lucy turned a deep shade of red and narrowed her eyes at Juvia. She untangled herself from her mess of blankets, grumbling about how that was the worst possible way to wake up. She stormed past Juvia, pointed an accusing finger at her and grumbled, "Good morning," before stamping down the hallway and into the kitchen.

"Lucy, what in the world happened up there?" Levy giggled when Lucy marched past her. When Lucy didn't answer, Levy turned to Juvia who had been following Lucy close behind. "Juvia, what happened? Sounded like a bloody murder up there!"

"Juvia thought it would be nice to scare me! Opening my window, then my bedroom door, and just standing there waiting for me!" Lucy whirled around snapped. "I hate mornings..." She closed her eyes and whined.

Juvia looked at Lucy with wide eyes and started prodding her fingers together. "Uhh, Juvia doesn't want to alarm you, but she didn't open your window. She only opened your bedroom door to let your dog out. He was scratching the door rather obnoxiously..." Juvia raised an eyebrow and shared a nervous glance with Levy.

"Lu... did you open your window and just forget you did?" Levy asked nervously.

"No! It's the middle of November! Who in their right mind would open their window in the middle of November!?" Lucy argued, then she realized what their conversation meant. "Okay, if you didn't open my window, and I didn't open my window, then who _did_?!" Lucy squeaked. She was getting more and more agitated each second. "Is someone stalking me? I swear if some perv is watching me through my windows late at night I'll... I'll... oooh!" She shook her fists in her aggravation and snatched a bowl off the counter. Pouring herself some oatmeal she plopped down in her chair at the table, angrily eating her breakfast.

Juvia and Levy shot nervous glances back and forth to each other. They both looked like they were going to say something, but one deadly glowering look from Lucy and the two were minding their own business again. Juvia fixed herself a bowl of oatmeal and sat in the empty chair beside Levy.

Not much later, Erza came downstairs. She looked energized and ready to seize the day, but stopped dead in her tracks when the mood in the kitchen doused her like a bucket of ice. She narrowed her eyes at the group of girls and sat down in the empty chair at the head of the table.

"Spill," She demanded.

"Lu thinks she has a stalker," Levy whispered and flinched when Lucy slammed her spoon into her bowl.

"It's probably that man down the street! The one who always makes disgusting pickup lines and comments on my clothes and, oooh, I bet it's him!" Lucy waved her spoon in the air. "You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to give him the ole Lucy Kick, and then I'll grab one of my swords from the broom closet and chop off his-

"Lucy that's quite enough," Erza interrupted and Levy choked on her oatmeal. "If you want, I will stay in your room with you tonight and keep watch on your window. If I spot anything or anyone out of the ordinary I'll investigate, how's that? We don't want to go around accusing people. It would make you and your business look bad and you don't want that do you?"

"No, but I still want to give that stupid perv a Lucy Kick." Lucy pouted and glared at her breakfast. Taking a deep breath she tried for a smile. "I'll be able to calm down once I go to the clearing today. I'm going to read there and just relax, and then at night I'll gaze at the stars and I'm thinking of camping out there as well."

"Hmmm," Erza sounded unsure and Lucy glared at her.

"Oh don't you dare 'Hmmm' me, Erza! I am a grown woman and I can do as I please! I'll take my sword out there with me and I'll be on my guard the entire. I know how to protect myself." She pointed her spoon at Erza and the bite of oatmeal that was sitting on it fell off and plopped onto the table. Lucy grabbed a napkin and wiped it off and served herself another spoonful of oatmeal, growling at the mess like it was the oatmeal's fault for falling. She was not having a great morning.

Juvia ate her breakfast in silence, Levy finished hers off, and Erza just sat at the table staring at Lucy curiously. Remembering that Levy had gone on a date with Gajeel the night before, Lucy looked up from her breakfast. She was ready to change the mood in the kitchen. It was much too negative for the bright day outside.

"So, Levy," Lucy asked as she swallowed her last bite of oatmeal and continued, "How did the date with Gajeel go?" Lucy smirked when Levy turned numerous shades of red.

Juvia giggled beside the flustered woman and Erza smiled.

"I-it... was wonderful," Levy sighed and beamed. "Gajeel took me to dinner and then we just walked around town and talked about nothing. It was really fun. Juvia, you and Gajeel must be really close. You came up once or twice. He told me somethings about himself that I didn't even know. Did you know he loves cats? A man like him, a cat lover? Who'd have thought!?"

Juvia smiled from behind her hand and nodded her head. "Gajeel has had a big heart for cats ever since he was young!" She looked at Levy like a light bulb had lit above her head. "Levy and Juvia should go see Gajeel today!" She beamed and grabbed Levy's hands.

"Wh-what, but doesn't he work on Saturdays? I go to work at the bookshop too so that wouldn't really... I mean I guess we could when I'm off for lunch, but I don't want to annoy him. He just saw me last night, and... and..."

"Levy, stop making excuses and go with Juvia to see Gajeel and I at lunch. It would be fun to share our lunch together, wouldn't it?" Erza asked and gaver her friend an encouraging smile.

"And Juvia wouldn't mind waiting in the bookstore! She loves reading romance and mysteries!"

"Besides, Levy, you're the last person who could annoy Gajeel. Honestly, you could punch him in the face and he'd just be impressed!" Lucy laughed and the others joined in. Lucy stood up from her spot and started collecting the dirty dishes. "You all head on out, I'll stay here and clean up before I go to the field today." Lucy stated.

The three said farewell and went their separate ways, Levy and Juvia to the bookstore, Erza to the blacksmith's. Lucy looked around the kitchen and sighed. Grabbing the sponge and soap, she started cleaning the dirty dishes. It was quiet in the apartment with only Lucy and Plue being the occupants.

She washed, dried, and put the dishes away and grabbed the broom. She swept the dirt all into one pile at the front door and carefully swinging it open, she shoved the dirt outside where it belonged. She was about to close the door when the mail boy ran up the steps.

"This is for Erza, oh, and there's one for you as well!" He said. He handed her the two letters and went off running again. "Have a nice day, Lucy!" He waved over his shoulder as he ran to deliver the rest of the mail.

She waved in return and smiled at the letters in hand. Erza's name was written in beautiful cursive handwriting and at the top left corner was who the letter was from. She smirked slyly when she read the name Jellal Fernandez. Lucy skipped up the stairs and decided to leave the letter on Erza's pillow for her to see when she returned from the blacksmith.

She felt like she was invading privacy as she stood in Erza's room. It was so clean that even the floorboards seemed to be sparkling. Everything was organized and in it's rightful place. The bed was made so perfectly it looked like something out of a catalog; the curtains drawn back to let the sun cast natural lighting, and the closet door open to reveal a very organized and well kept closet. Seeing letters neatly stacked on Erza's desk, Lucy decided to put the letter there instead of leave it on the bed.

She closed the door behind her when she left Erza's room and sighed. She always hated going into her room mate's rooms. It was awkward and she felt like an intruder of some sort whenever she went in without permission.

Lucy walked down the hall and into her bedroom, setting the letter addressed to her on her desk. She leaned the broom against the wall, and strode over to the window and pushed it open. She closed her eyes when she felt the chilly breeze drift into her room. She crawled up on her bed and leaned out the window. She looked up at the sky and smiled. Clear skies as far as the eye could see. Even if it was cold outside, Lucy loved opening her window during the day, despite the fact she implied people were crazy to do so earlier that morning. She still shuddered at the fact someone had opened up her window the night before, though.

Hopping off of the mattress, Lucy pulled the blankets up and made her bed. She patted out the wrinkles and fluffed her pillow. She turned around and went to reach for her broom, humming a sweet melody as she cleaned up her room. It wasn't even messy, it was just the wooden floor had become victim of the dust and dirt that somehow found it's way in.

Hearing claws scratching against the hard floors, she whistled at Plue to notify him of exactly where she was. The small fluffy white dog came bounding in and slammed right into her leg. He flopped back onto his rear end and blinked up at Lucy with a dazed look. He shuddered and shook, causing Lucy to snort.

"Do you ever stop shaking?" She wondered aloud and detached the dustpan from the broom handle. Carefully brushing the dust and dirt into the pan, Lucy stood up and dumped the contents into her wastebasket. Looking at her desk she remembered the letter that had been addressed to her. Her name was written in well practiced cursive and she smiled when she recognized it to be her father's.

She pulled the chair out, sat down, and opened up the envelope. She opened up the letter and beamed as she began to read.

 _"Dear Lucy,_

 _From your last letter it seems as though you spend more and more time in that clearing. If it reminds you of your mother so much, then I might have to come visit. It sounds peaceful and very lovely. I'm glad to see that you and your friends Erza and Levy are getting closer everyday. Friendships and relationships work like that. The more you see one another or the more you're able to interact, the stronger the bond grows._

 _It's been quiet here in Konzern. We're having a festival soon. Remember the music festival? You and Layla loved it so much. It's not the same without my little princess and my lovely queen. I miss my royal ladies._

 _I don't want to alarm you, but as of recent, I've been feeling ill. It guess it may be old age, haha~ There's no need to worry about me, the doctor said it's just a cold and that I need to rest. (I hope writing letters to my daughter is counted as resting if not I'll make it an exception!)_

 _How's the bakery running? Word of it has reached all the way back here! People say it's the best bread, cookies, and cakes they'd ever tasted! One day I'll make it down to Magnolia and you'll have to show me around and stuff me up with those baked goods! I also heard that it's rather busy for you? I hope you find someone to help you, I know how stressful work can get. I sadly speak from experience. Oh, and if you're looking for something new to add to the menu, I found your mother's recipe for cinnoman rolls! I hope it's of good use in The Fairy's Delight! I would like to know the story behind the name if there is one... it's an interesting name. (Part of me wonders if it is due to all the fairy tales I told you when you were young.)_

 _Well, it's getting late and I'm getting tired. The stars out here shine so brightly. The other day I was able to spot the constellation you told me about! I teared up when I saw it, I could almost feel Layla standing beside me, pointing the stars out. Write back with more so I can have the privilege of talking to stars and you mother just like you!_

 _Lots of love, your Father."_

Lucy snatched for her pencil and grabbed a blank piece of paper, she excitedly wrote her reply. Telling her father of Gajeel and Levy, and Juvia. She wrote about how Juvia was going to be helping her with the bakery. She wrote her father and told him to be careful, rest up, and focus on getting better. She signed the letter wishing he could be there to star gaze with her as well and told him the locations, times, and dates of more constellations. Folding the paper up, she grabbed an empty envelope and wrote her father's address at the top corner and his name in the middle of the paper in her best cursive handwriting.

She decided she'd drop it off Monday morning on her way to the bakery. She twisted in her seat when she saw the recipe her father had sent her. Oh how she itched to start baking right away, but that would only get in the way of she had originally planned. She would have to play with the recipe another time.

Seeing that she was still in her nightgown and hadn't brushed out her hair, Lucy blushed. That means everyone had seen her when she had opened the door to clean out the kitchen and entry way. Running her hands over her face, Lucy groaned. She needed to start reminding herself to get dressed before leaving her room. It would save her the embarrassment of people seeing her with a bedhead and her wrinkled nightgown.

She closed her bedroom door and drew the curtains to block her window. She opened up her dresser and chose a simple blue dress and grey leggings for underneath. She wanted to stay as warm as she could when she planned to go out. Switching out of the nightgown and into the clothes she had chosen, Lucy then moved to her vanity. She sat down and brushed out the tangles and knots, and she put her hair up in a simple side ponytail that she tied up with a blue ribbon to match her dress. She let the rest of her hair tumble over shoulders.

"You're as beautiful as ever, Lucy!" She gave her reflection a thumbs up and jumped to her feet. Pushing her curtains aside, she closed her window. She opened her bedroom door, grabbed the broom and dustpan and trotted down the hall to the broom closet. Opening the closet closet she snorted when she saw hers, Levy's, and Erza's swords leaning against the wall.

Their swords were stored in the broom closet only because there was no other place to put them. The three were working together to save up for sword stands so that they could keep their weapons of defense in their rooms, but until then the broom closet it was. Remembering her threat this morning, Lucy picked up her sword and unsheathed it. She gently swung it through the air, smiling at how it balanced with her so well.

Knowing that she needed to find a way to keep herself busy the rest of the day, Lucy decided she'd go find a friend to practice swordplay with instead of reading. She smiled when a certain friend came to mind. He had the day off as well, if she remembered correctly, and it would be nice to spend time with him as well.

Wrapping the belt of the scabbard around her waist, Lucy whistled to Plue. Patting her thigh she commanded him to follow as she closed the broom closet and went to her room to get her keys from the top of her dresser. Making sure her fluffy companion was following her, Lucy ran downstairs and shut and locked the door behind her.

With Plue running close behind, Lucy dashed in the direction of her friend's house.

* * *

"Yeah, practicing sounds great!" Gray Fullbuster grinned as he grabbed his sword that was leaning against the wall by the door. "It's been awhile, Lucy, what's up?" He asked as he closed and locked the door behind him. Gray Fullbuster was an old friend of Lucy's, he had been one of the few people to welcome her to Magnolia when she had come three years ago. Though his greeting hadn't been as wonderful as the others. Gray had a habit of loosing his clothes. When Lucy bumped into him on the streets he was as naked as the day he was born and when the man had asked her if he could borrow her clothes, Lucy gave him a well deserved Lucy Kick.

"Oh, nothing much," Lucy shrugged and cuddled Plue in her arms. "I do have someone hepling me in the bakery now, though! Her name is Juvia and she's so sweet and kind. I'll have to intruduce you two sometime soon!" She smiled at the man walking beside her.

He nodded his head, smiling at the thought of making a new friend. Gray was a very handsome young man. He was mischievous and popular among the women and even the men of Magnolia. He could be cold, harsh, and liked to keep to himself most of the time, but he was different with friends and the people he knew well. His appearance was startling handsome, similar to Erza's. His spiky black hair looked sharp to the point, but it was surprisingly soft. (Lucy only knew of this because Gray had allowed her to play with his hair once. It turned out to be a one time deal when she started putting it up in ribbons and clips, though.) His eyes were a dark blue, and he looked like he wore a permanent glare, but when he smiled, any signs of a fowl mood melted away.

Gray worked as a sculptor. He didn't really have a schedule for his work, but he did take Saturdays off to give himself a day to relax. Gray, like Lucy, was well known all throughout Fiore for his sculptures. He was often invited to parties that wealthy or royalty would only be allowed to tend to. His specialty in sculpting was his ice sculptures. They were his most popular piece of work as well.

"How's Erza and Levy doing?" He asked as they started walking up the streets. "It feels like I haven't seen them in ages, but I saw them monday so I guess it hasn't really been that long." He chuckled and fiddled with the hilt of his sword.

"They're doing fine, Erza got a letter from Jellal today and Levy had a wonderful date with Gajeel last night! I'm jealous they have someone they care about and that cares about them in return." Lucy pouted, "It really isn't fair!"

"Well, it's not my fault you can't find the poor soul who lives up to your expectations." Gray snickered.

"Hey!" Lucy gasped and smacked him in the shoulder. She squeaked when her hand met skin and her face went red. "Gray your shirt!" She hissed.

"How does this even happen!?" Gray growled and snatched the shirt he had tossed onto the ground out of habit. He ignored the wide eyes of the men and women walking by and quickened his pace. "I understand everyone likes my abs, but do they really gotta stare like that? It's creepy."

"G-Gray!" Lucy laughed and smacked him upside the head this time.

In no time at all, the two had made it the clearing where they planned to practice their skills with the sword. Lucy unsheathed hers and Gray followed. Bowing out of respect the two clashed their blades together and began the dance of what a sword battle would truly look like.

When following through with a blow, they would smack the flat of their blade to the target and proclaim victory before starting another round. The two were soon drenched in sweat, breathing heavily as they continued their practice session.

In the midst of it all, Lucy found herself smiling. She laughed when Gray managed to kick his foot at her legs and swipe them out from beneath her. She crashed to ground and signed surrender when he held the point of his sword above her face. He was getting cocky!

Lowering her sword, Lucy sighed. Gray followed suit, he tipped his head up at the sky and was just staring at nothing. Lucy smirked, now was her chance. As fast as a snake, she locked her legs around one of Gray's. She twisted her whole body, forcing her weight into his so he would fall. When he began to go down, Lucy pushed herself up and knocked him down with her elbow. When he landed flat on his back, Lucy pointed at him with her sword.

"Nice comeback!" Gray admired as he pushed her sword away, "Now help me up."

Helping him to his feet, Lucy looked up at the clear sky and was shocked to see the sun high in the sky. It was the middle of the afternoon. "Just how long were we out here?" Lucy asked, trying to calm her racing breaths."

"I dunno, but it was fun, we should do this more often." Gray smiled and sheathed his sword. "How about we go get some lunch?"

"And I know just the place we can go!" Lucy gasped, "C'mon we're going to go join, Erza, Gajeel, Levy, and Juvia at lunch!"

* * *

"Juvia, get off!" Gray scowled, blush tinging his cheeks. Lunch had gone well for the group of friends. When Lucy introduced Gray to Juvia, it was shocking to see how quickly Juvia grew attached to Gray. Juvia kept proclaiming about love and how Lucy was now her love rival while hugging Gray's arm and smiling up at him. Gray would merely turn a light red and avoid eye contact while trying to shove the woman off. Needless to say lunch was interesting.

"Juvia must prove her love to Gray! It is love at first sight!" Juvia sang and batted her eyelashes at him. She sent a small glare at Lucy, but then smiled, "Even if we are to be love rivals, Juvia wishes to stay friends with Lucy."

"Love rivals? What, no, no, no~ I am not interested in Gray, Juvia." Lucy shook her head, and giggling nervously. "We're not love rivals."

"Then why did Gray strip hist shirt when Lucy looked over at him earlier?" Juvia pouted.

"Stripper Boy, here has a problem with that." Gajeel cackled and smacked his hand against Gray's back. "I swear if you hurt Juvia I'll break you. Not that she can't take care of herself, which she can so you'd better be careful, but once you've healed up from her pummeling be on the look out for me." Gajeel glared at the other young man.

Gray turned pale and then sneered at Gajeel. "I would never do that on purpose, you should know that." Gray narrowed his eyes. Lucy was afraid the two were going to start fighting, but Gajeel simply nodded his head and turned away.

"Erza, we need to get back to work, we've had too long of a lunch break!" He grumbled. Before anyone could say anything, Gajeel stood up from the table and walked back towards the front of shop. The blacksmith was Gajeel's shop and his home, as well. The back part of it was his home while to front opened up to be his work station.

Lucy was jealous of Gajeel because of it. She always wondered what it would be like to live in a bakery. She loved the smell of the cookies and cakes that floated around her shop, it always seemed soothing to her.

"Well, I'm gonna head back home. I want to take a nap." She yawned and turned to Juvia who was still clinging to Gray. "Are you two going to spend the rest of the day together?" Lucy teased and nearly lost it when Gray shot her an icy glare.

"Juvia wishes, but she promised to help Levy at the bookstore." Juvia smiled and skipped to Levy. "Juvia wants to return to the bookshop so that Levy will not be late returning to work!" Juvia grabbed her hand and without saying goodbye, she tugged the petite woman outside and down the streets headed in the direction other bookstore Levy worked at.

"Well, I'm going to head home as well. Even if it is my day off, that's no excuse to not clean my house and work area." Gray muttered and rolled his eyes when he saw his shirt hanging on the back of a chair. "This stupid habit!" He grumbled and continued to mumble irritated words under his breath as he shoulder his shirt back on and walked out the door to head home.

"Lucy, I need to hurry back to work, I'll see you back at home tonight for dinner." Erza smiled and gave her a small wave before heading in Gajeel's direction.

"Oh, by the way, a letter came for you in the mail today. I set it on your desk!" Lucy notified the beautiful woman and picked up Plue before heading out the door. Suppressing a yawn, Lucy hurried down the streets so she could get home and take a much needed nap.

* * *

Waking up, Lucy was startled to see the sky outside was tinged with orange. 'Did I really sleep for that long?' She thought and when she remembered it was nearly winter she snorted. The days would be getting shorter and nights longer, so it probably wasn't all that late. Her stomach grumbled and she took that as a sign to go fix herself some dinner.

With Plue following close behind, Lucy skipped down the hall and into the kitchen to fix herself a small bowl of soup and slice of bread. She was excited and ready to go star gazing. Nothing was going to stop her this time! She beamed confidently as she stirred the pot of soup.

Knowing that Erza, Levy, and Juvia would be back soon, Lucy decided to go ahead and fix enough for everyone. She talked to Plue while she cooked, telling him about their plans that night and asking if he'd enjoyed his nap. Since he was just a dog, his only reply was to intense his begging for food or bark.

Snickering, Lucy dropped him a small piece of bread.

When she finished cooking the meal, she looked at the front door and rejoiced when the three women she had been waiting on came walking in. She could not have timed that more perfectly! Serving them all a bowl and setting them at the table, she waved.

"Lucy, aren't you going to eat?" Juvia asked as she took her seat and started eating. Her eyes widened and Juvia twisted around. "This is delicous! Juvia loves Lucy's cooking!" She cried.

Lucy blushed at the compliment, "Thank you, and yes, I will be eating, but I'm going to head out to the clearing early. I want to make up for the time I lost last night. I'll eat once I settle down in the field. Oh, and don't worry Erza. I'll be taking my sword and Plue with me and I decided to cancel the plan of camping out." Lucy stated, giving Erza a warning glare. She was not about to let the overprotective woman ruin her plans.

"I guess there is no stopping you, enjoy yourself, but please be careful." Erza smiled and sat down in her spot at the table. "Thank you for dinner, Lucy."

"Yes, Lu, thank you for dinner!" Levy agreed, smiling brightly at Lucy.

"You're welcome!" Lucy replied. She raced to the coat rack by the door and pulled her jacket down. Shouldering it on, she whistled to Plue. The white fluffy dog came bounding in, skidding to halt right at her feet. Smiling, Lucy bent down and scooped him up in her arms. "Let's go, Plue!"

* * *

Sitting in the field, watching the sunset and Plue run around enjoying himself was extremely relaxing. Lucy watched as the sky grew darker and the stars began to shine. The moon rose higher until, soon, Lucy was staring at the beautiful night sky, talking with the stars and her mother again.

"I think Juvia really thinks she's found true love with Gray, funny how things like that work." Lucy shrugged, "I don't believe in love at first sight, but I guess it happens. Was is like that for you and Dad, Momma?" Lucy tilted her head and giggled softly. "Dad loves talking about you now, it's nice. He used to never talk about you... and now..." Lucy brushed the tears from her eyes and closed her eyes as she smiled.

She lied down on her back, allowing Plue to run up and rest on her stomach. Her hair was splayed out behind her, shining in the moon and starlight. Plue nuzzled the underside of her chin and then suddenly sat up straight. His head whipped around to look at the woods and started growling.

"What...?" Lucy asked and tried to calm the dog down, but he bolted towards the woods. "Hey, Plue!" Lucy yelped and jumped to her feet. Making sure her sword was tight in it's scabbard, Lucy chased after her pet. She looked up at the night sky and waved a distracted farewell and muttering a confused, "Sorry," before running after Plue.

She was only able to keep up with him because of his bright white fur, but it was still difficult to follow him in the dark. She was lucky the leaves had fallen due to the frigid air, if it were any other time of year, Lucy wasn't sure she'd have been able to see anything with the leaves of the treebranches blocking the moonlight. But it was freezing, and Lucy was able to see her breath. Even with her jacket, she was starting to shiver.

Looking around the area where she had stopped to catch her breath, she groaned. Where had Plue gone? She was worried... and scared. She had never gone into the woods before. She was sure it was beautiful in the day, but at night the bare trees and bushes gave off a creepy aura.

"Plue?" She called wither her hands cupped around her mouth, hoping Plue would bark in reply, but there was no answer. Hugging her arms to herself, her teeth started to chatter. "Plue!" She called out again, her voiced mixed with fear and worry this time. He couldn't just have vanished!

Why had he run off anyway? It didn't make sense! He had to have smelled something. Lucy's eyes widened and she took a step back. What if Plue had smelled something and gone chasing after it? Didn't Erza say something about hearing a rumor of some monster lurking in the woods? Funny how it sounded so convincing now that it came to her mind.

Hearing the sound of twigs breaking, Lucy jumped. Something was coming her way, and fast! She looked around for a hiding spot, but there was nowhere to go! Her eyes darted all around, searching for what she heard coming. She pulled her sword out and prepared herself. She wouldn't go down without a fight... whatever it was that was coming towards her!

A flash of white bolted out of the darkness and Lucy screamed. She stopped herself just in time when she recognized the shaking dog that came running towards her to be her dog Plue. Still hearing the sound of twigs snapping, Lucy sheathed her sword and turned to run. Unfortunately, she couldn't see where she was going, and she hit her head on a low branch from a tree she was sure hadn't been there before.

Collapsing to the ground, Lucy heard someone say, "I found the little thief that stole our fish, Happy! And, whooooaaa, there's a girl here, too." She felt calloused hands turn her over onto her back, and she sighed at warm their touch. She heard them asking her worried questions, but she couldn't decipher their words. She only managed to see dark green eyes glowing at her in the moonlight before she blacked out.

* * *

 **Woooo! That was a long one, I had to take numerous breaks to finish it, good grief!**

 **Thank you guys for the lovely reviews! I will start replying to them, because I am still new to and dummy little me didn't realize there was a way to reply. Ehehe... -facepalm- so sorry guys LOL**

 **This one took me longer to write because I had a friend stay the night last night! She drew me the cover that the story now has! LOOK AT IT -points at cover- IT'S ADORABLE RIGHT? YEAH, IT'S GREAT. I linked her art blog on my profile so you guys should totally go check out her art and stuff!**

 **No books books and books today because I've been busy writing not reading so with that I sign off. Until next time, and please, leave a review if you can! :)**


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Lucy woke up confused and with a headache. She sat up and looked around and was even more confused to find herself sitting in the clearing once again. Plue was curled up on her legs, wagging his tail at her.

Hadn't she chased him into the woods? She had hit her head, and someone had found her. She remembered hearing a voice. Getting up, she faltered, the world around her spun out of control. Her headache was pretty bad. She blushed when she wondered how hard she had hit that low branch, she felt ridiculous.

She looked at the edge of the field, where the clearing met the boundary of the woods and narrowed her eyes. For a second, she thought she saw someone walking into the darkness of the trees. She blinked and there was no sign of anyone.

She looked up at the clear night sky, just what had happened? She tried to stand up again, but she fell back down. Lucy cupped her hands around her mouth to call out for help, but she heard footsteps running in her direction.

"Lucy!" That was Gray's voice, "There you are! Everyone's been worried sick! Where did you go?" He trotted over to her and helped her up. His eyes were shocked with concern and when he took in her appearance, it seemed to only make him fret more. "What happened to you?"

"I... I'm not sure." Lucy whispered and touched her hand to her forehead. She gasped when she felt it wrapped in a bandage. Had someone helped her? She stood up straight with Gray's help and looked all around the clearing. "Wait, wait, someone helped me." She mumbled, but Gray paid no attention.

"C'mon, we need to get you home, Erza is freakin' out. Do you know how late it is?" Gray scolded and Lucy felt ashamed. "Sorry, I don't mean to be harsh, but I was worried about you." He lowered his voice, and he sounded embarrassed to admit to being scared that his friend had gone mysteriously missing.

"I should be the one apologizing," Lucy told him and leaned on him for support. Her headache was getting worse with each step! She was dizzy and felt like she was about to fall over. "Gray, you may have to carry me..." She trailed off and then tumbled to the ground.

"Okay, Lucy what happened." Gray demanded and hoisted her up on his back.

"I took Plue with me to star gaze and he ran into the woods, chasing after something, I think. I went after him, and I found him, but then I thought I heard something coming. My first instinct was to fight back, but then I thought better of it and turned to run. I smacked right into a tree branch, fell over and passed out. I heard someone's voice, and I think I remember someone carrying me, too. When I woke up, I was back out here." She rested her chin on his shoulder and muttered in his ear. She felt horrible for making everyone worry. "I'm sorry I scared everyone," She croaked and felt like crying.

"It's alright. Just don't scare us like that again, Lucy." Gray replied and slowly walked down the streets of Magnolia.

While Gray carried her, Lucy let her thoughts get to her. She started wondering what had happened back there in the woods. She patted her hip and her heart fluttered with relief when she felt her sword. She looked down at the ground and smiled when she saw Plue, thankfully he had followed her and not gone running towards the woods again.

Drawing her face together in confusion, Lucy groaned. Who had helped her? Who had carried her back to the clearing? Whose voice had she heard before going unconscious? She was so frustrated that she didn't know any of this!

She rested her forehead against Gray's shoulder and huffed. She knew she was going to get in trouble with Erza. The woman had already been skeptical of Lucy going to the field to stargaze. With dread, Lucy wondered if Erza would ever allow her to go watch the night sky again.

Lucy suddenly sat up straight, nearly falling off of Gray's back and onto the cobblestone street. The man yelled in protest and Lucy giggled softly. She snickered a soft apology and sat still once again. She knew that the person who had helped had said a name, the way that they had worded their sentence sounded like they had been talking to someone. The name had been 'Happy'. She wrinkled her nose, what kinda name was that? That was a mood. If people named their children moods, there would be people walking around with names like 'Anger' or 'Sad'!

She almost cracked up laughing at the thought of that.

She heard Gray mutter something about her being insane, but she paid no mind to him. She kept going back to the voice she heard before passing out. She wanted to know who had saved her. She blushed at the idea of some handsome, charming man saving her in the middle of the woods.

Lucy would have gone into deeper thought about it, but Gray was almost to her apartment, and she knew she needed to be prepared to do some extreme explaining.

* * *

After Lucy finished explaining everything, everyone calmed down. Lucy felt relaxed to know that nobody was angry or upset. Her friends were just worried about her.

"I'm sorry I scared you all," Lucy looked down at her lap, still feeling horrible.

"It's fine Lucy! We're not angry! We were just worried something bad had happened!" Levy hugged her and then narrowed her eyes at Lucy's forehead, "Just how hard did you hit that tree branch?" Levy wondered aloud and moved to touch it.

Lucy flinched back, covering the sore spot with her hand and glared at the petite woman. "Don't just go touching people's wounds!" She snapped and pouted when Gajeel snickered.

"Well, now that I know Bunny Girl is all right, I'm goin' home. See ya'll tomorrow or whatever," Gajeel waved to them and before leaving turned to Levy. "Bye, Shrimp," He winked and closed the front door behind him.

"Shrimp!?" Levy gasped and her face exploded in red. She tromped over to the door and swung it open. She looked like she was about to yell something at the 'infuriating imbecile', but thought better of it when Gray reminded her that people could be asleep at such a late hour. Levy slammed the door and marched upstairs, grumbling about how annoying Gajeel was.

Lucy, Erza, Juvia, and Gray all shared a knowing look and broke in a fit of soft laughter.

"Those two are so in love, it's beautiful!" Juvia sighed and then looked at Gray, "If only Juvia could find love like that! Oh, wait, but she has!" She jumped to her feet and hugged Gray's arm tightly. "Juvia has found Gray!"

Gray blinked once and then turned a soft pink. He let out a nervous chuckle and gently pried Juvia off of him. Saying a rushed farewell, he scurried out the door and headed for his home.

"Well, I think it'd be best if we went to bed as well," Erza yawned. She tugged Lucy up after her, but stopped halfway. "Oh, and Juvia, tomorrow you, Lucy, Levy, and I will be needing to talk with you. So, please, don't make any plans, we will need you for maybe all day."

"Oh!" Juvia straightened and looked at Lucy confused. Lucy could only return the look, she had no idea what Erza was talking about either. "Don't worry, Juvia has no plans for tomorrow, she would love to spend the day talking with Erza, Lucy, and Levy!" She beamed and headed into the living room where her makeshift bed was.

Saying a good night to Erza, Lucy headed to her room and prepared herself for bed. She went to sleep wondering who had helped her. She stared at the stars outside while she scratched Plue's fluffy head, she would have to go investigating. She wanted to meet who had saved her and thank them properly. With an idea forming in her mind, Lucy fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Lucy woke up to Erza slamming her bedroom door open. "Up! Get up! We have improtant plans for today! We have someone moving in!" The woman yelled. Lucy groaned and pulled her covers up over her head. "Oh no, you don't!" Erza shouted and stamped towards Lucy's bed. The demonic woman ripped the blankets from Lucy's bed and threw them on the ground. "Up! You will be helping Levy, and I prepare the extra room for Juvia. She will be moving in with us, now get up!"

"Okay! Okay!" Lucy whined and shivered as she got up from bed. She shot a tiresome glare at Erza and trudged downstairs. She threw herself down in the windowseat of the kitchen and shared a glare with Levy.

Judging from her appearance, Erza had woken Levy up the same way as Lucy. Levy looked like she was ready to murder someone, and Lucy felt like murdering someone. She hated mornings.

Juvia stumbled in soon and plopped down in a chair beside Levy. The woman let out a tired yawn and then flopped onto the table. Within seconds, she was snoring.

"Juvia! Wake up!" Erza slammed her fist down on the table, startling the sleeping woman. "We need to discuss some things," Erza sat down in her chair at the head of the table and looked around the room with a demanding gleam in her eye. "Lucy, Levy, what do you say to letting Juvia move in with us?"

Juvia looked shocked. She sat there staring at Erza with wide eyes. She clamped her hands over her mouth and darted her eyes back and forth from Levy to Lucy.

"Sure," Levy croaked and rubbed her tired eyes.

"Mmhmm," Lucy mumbled and leaned her head on the wall. She was exhausted and her head hurt. She felt herself beginning to drift off again. She heard footsteps and then, next thing she knew, she was being picked up. Lucy's eyes flew open and she screamed when she realized Erza was about to throw here into one of the chairs at the table. "I'm awake! Put me down, now!" She yelped and kicked herself out of Erza's arms.

Hearing soft laughs from the others, Lucy grumbled when she took her seat. She glared at Erza and huffed.

"Well, if we all agree on letting Juvia move in, then let's get started. We'll be cleaning out the room that we use as a personal libary. We'll move the books and bookshelves down stairs into the livingroom. After that is done, we'll go see the carpenters to get some furniture for Juvia's room." Erza explained. She looked like she was having a wonderful morning, Lucy was irritated that she was taking it out on her and Levy. Couldn't Erza keep her morning person mood to herself?

"Well, seeing as my head still hurts, I won't be able to help! Oh, what a shame, good luck you guys!" Lucy stood up and held her head to show how it was bothering her. She turned to leave the room, but Erza stopped her.

"No, you will be helping. If you won't help, then you'll be the one doing all of the chores for the next month." Erza threatened.

"Oh, wow, whatdya know! My headache is gone! You guys need help?" Lucy turned around and smiled nervously at the other girls.

Juvia giggled while Levy rolled her eyes. The group of girls made their way upstairs and down the hall to the room that would soon be Juvia's. They started taking down books, putting them in boxes, and carrying them downstairs.

Juvia was a ball of excitement the entire time. She repeated the words "Thank you," numerous times and cried tears of joy at one point. Lucy was happy to see Juvia so excited about moving into the apartment when them.

Cleaning out the personal library and setting the books and bookshelves in the living room went a lot faster than what Lucy had first thought. They had finished just before lunch, but seeing as though neither of them were hungry yet, they continued working.

"How about you three go see the carpenter while I fix lunch?" Levy announced and started pushing them towards the front door. "We'll need help bringing the furniture as well so go see if Gray and Gajeel can help!"

While Levy stayed at the apartment fixing a meal, Lucy, Juvia, and Erza walked down the streets to the carpenters' shop. Lucy was excited to see them. Jet and Droy were very kind and close friends of Levy.

"Hello, Jet. Hello, Droy," Erza greeted as the three walked inside. The shop was big and the smell of fabric and wood was almost overwhelming.

Jet and Droy came barging in and looked at the group of women beaming happily, obviously excited that Levy might have come. When they saw that the petite woman was not with them, the two both sighed disapppointedly. Replacing it with a quick smile, they greeted Lucy, Erza, and Juvia and waved them inside.

Jet and Droy were two of Levy's best friends. Jet was tall and thin, with his red hair tied up in a tight pony tail. Droy was overweight and around the same height as Jet, his hair was dark black, and a strand stuck up and curled on the top of his head. The two were close friends and always seemed to be together, it was odd seeing one without the other.

"Hello, Lucy, Erza! Who's your friend here?" Jet asked as he walked over to them.

"Juvia is pleased to meet you!" Juvia beamed and held out her hand to shake. Jet gave her an odd look and then smiled back while he shook her hand. "Juvia will be moving in with Levy, Lucy, and Erza! She is looking for furniture to put in her room!"

"Well, then you came to the right place!" Droy laughed, joining the conversation. "We have a wide variety, if you need help we'll be here at the front of the store!"

"Hmph, they weren't nearly this professional when I came to get furniture for my room." Lucy stated as the three started browsing, looking at the beds and nightstands to place in Juvia's room.

"That was because Levy was with us, remember?" Erza teased, "Now, come, Juvia. I take it you'd like your room to be colored blue and maybe some yellow?"

"Yes! That would be lovely!" Juvia gasped, "Blue, yellow, and maybe some white! Colors of the beautiful sky!" She clapped her hands together and squeaked when she saw a white bed and nightstand set.

While Erza and Juvia were overlooking the set Juvia had chosen, Lucy started looking around on her own. She had been wanting to redecorate her room, but she didn't know how she would just yet. Something had just caught her eye when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Someone was watching her. Turning around, she stared towards the front of the shop, but all she saw was the outline of a cat walk past the open door.

She shrugged it off as still being paranoid from the night before and skipped over to join her friends.

"Juvia has found what she wants!" Juvia called to the front. Jet came bounding back and started talking prices with Erza. Juvia turned to Lucy and took her hands, "Oh, thank you! Juvia is so happy to be moving in with you all!"

"I'm happy to have you as a new room mate!" Lucy smiled and then caught Jet's attention, "I'll help Erza pay, also, do you think you two could help us bring the furniture in?"

"Of course! We'd be happy to!" Jet gave her a thumbs up and then raced to go get Droy to assist him.

* * *

Setting up Juvia's room went by fast. The group was done in no time at all. Levy seemed a little disappointed that they hadn't gone to ask Gajeel for help, but when she saw Jet and Droy walk in it quickly vanished. Apparently the three hadn't talked in awhile and it had been the perfect opportunity for them to catch up while furnishing Juvia's room.

Lucy dismissed herself when the sun began to set, though. She hurried to the clearing, afraid Erza would hunt her down and drag her back. She wanted to see who had helped in the woods the night before and she would take advantage of it before the day was completely over.

She approached the edge of the woods and peered in, somewhat scared. She was alone this time. She had left Plue at home, and she scolded herself when she realized she had left her sword as well. Weaponless and alone, Lucy trudged into the woods.

It was eerily quiet, most of the woodland creatures were either hibernating or had migrated to somewhere warmer by now. Lucy's feet crunched on the fallen leaves and dead grass.

She kept walking until she came towards a cave. It was dark inside, and she was about to turn away and head back to the field, when something flashed in the corner of her eye. She froze and narrowed her eyes as she stared into the mouth of the cave.

It looked dark and empty for all she could tell, but something about it was off. She could tell something was in there. It dawned on her that she could have found a bear's cave, and she took another step back when something darted out. She almost let loose a scream when it crashed into her chest.

She and whatever had dashed out of the cavern tumbled down to the ground. She threw it off of her and sat up fast, heart beating ridiculously fast from the scare. Lucy scoffed when her eyes landed on a blue cat.

"Stupid cat! You scared me!" She hissed and jumped to her feet.

"You need to leave." The cat meowed.

Lucy blinked once, twice, and then screamed. The cat yowled along with her and flew at her face. Literally, flew. It had wings. It shoved it's paw over her mouth and glared at her with big eyes.

"Quiet! You'll wake him up!" The cat whimpered.

Still freaked out by the cat, Lucy just stared at it. It looked like a normal cat, save for the beautiful wings on it's back. It's wings were amazing. They were pure white like an angel's. It's blue fur was peculiar, but Lucy had seen cats of all colors so it wasn't that shocking.

"I'm sorry I scared you, but you really should leave." The cat whispered. "Come back at night time, then you can talk to Natsu. Be quiet and please don't wake him." It flicked it's tail nervously and Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"Natsu? Who's Natsu?" She wondered aloud and looked around the cat into the cave. "Is someone in there? It's nearly winter! He shouldn't be living in a cave when it's getting cold outside! He'll freeze to death!" Lucy rattled on and pushed the cat aside. Ignoring it's protests, Lucy hustled into the cavern.

There was nothing but a sleeping bag, an old tattered backpack, and a scarf in the far corner. A small fire that looked like it was about to die sat in the middle of the hard cave floor. It was quiet, but every few seconds there was a loud rumbling sound. It sounded like obnoxious snoring and deep breaths.

Something was sleeping. Something big.

"Hello?" Lucy called out, and instantly regretted it.

A low angry growl answered her. In the darkness, two giant green eyes opened and zeroed in on her. Taking in her appearance it let out another growl, this time opening it's giant mouth. It hissed at her and shot a line of burning smoke above her head. It got to it's feet and took a step forward, it's talons and claws scraping against the rocks and boulders.

Lucy gasped and stumbled back. A dragon. She had found a dragon.

The dragon opened it's mouth, the inside of it's throat was glowing. Lucy scrambled out of the cave, knowing it was about to burn her to a crisp. The blue cat with wings wrapped it's tail around her waist and flew her up into the air. It gently dropped her on the hill the cave was carved into and landed at her feet.

"Great, now he's gonna be mad at me!" The cat growled and glared at her. It stood up on it's hind legs and pointed one of it's front paws at the ground below the hill. "He's gonna yell at me when he's changed. He's gonna blame me for you coming here! How'd find us anyway?" The cat narrowed it's eyes.

"I don't know..." Lucy trailed off. She shrieked when she saw the top of the dragon's head poke out of the cave. It looked... grumpy. It opened it's mouth and yawned and then looked up at the sky. The sun was low now, and the dark night sky was replacing the red, yellow, and pink sunset.

The dragon crawled out of the cave and settled in the bare area in front of it. It curled up and rested it's head on it's front legs. It closed it's eyes again and fell back asleep.

"Oh, good, he's just going to sleep until the moon comes up." The cat sighed in relief and sank to it's four paws. It looked up at Lucy and flicked it's ear at her. "I'm Happy, by the way, who are you? Natsu and I helped you last night, it was pretty dumb of you to run into that tree."

Lucy's jaw dropped and she glared down at the cat and decided to ignore it's rude comment. "You're Happy? Is Natsu the one who I heard talking before I blacked out? When can I meet him? I want to thank him."

"Oh, you'll meet him soon enough," Happy mewed. It had an amused look in it's eye that made Lucy nervous. If Happy knew Natsu, wouldn't it make sense if the two were near each other? Hadn't the cat mentioned something about Natsu being in the cave?

Lucy's heart stopped. Had Natsu been in there with that dragon? She scrambled down the side of the hill, quietly scuffling to the mouth of the cave. She looked over her shoulder at the sleeping dragon to be sure it was still asleep. She tried to see through the darkness, but it was useless. It was empty, save for the backpack, sleeping bag, and pile of burnt wood that used to be a crackling fire.

She turned back around and saw that the moon was up in the sky by now. It's light shined down on the dragon and the dragon's scales seemed to glow in it. Lucy was shocked to realize the scales were actually glowing when the dragon lifted it's head.

It blinked at her and Lucy froze. It's dark green eyes matched to what she had glimpsed a few nights ago. The dragon leaned it's head forward until it's maw was in her face. It sniffed at her and snorted smoke out it's nose, causing her to choke and cough.

The dragon made a low whining sound, and looked at her with soft eyes. It looked like it was trying to say sorry. Lucy blinked at it and took a shy step forward. The dragon's scales were glowing fiercely now. It was almost blinding. Lucy had to squint in order to see.

The dragon looked up at the night sky and sighed. It stood up on all four legs and turned to face the moon. It's back was to Lucy and she gaped at the giant wings on it's back. The scales and the dragon itself was beautiful, but the wings were gorgeous. A mixture of reds, scarlets, and pinks were the colors of it's tough scales. The scales on the wings were patterned in a way, it looked like the dragon was carrying flames.

Lucy was going to admire the magnificence of it all, forgetting to fear the dragon, when it whined. Happy, who had joined her on the ground, looked almost sad. The cat flattened it's ears and whined with the dragon. Lucy wondered what was going on when the scales of the dragon glowed even brighter.

She raised her arm above her eyes, somewhat blocking the bright light, and squinted at the dragon. Just what was going on? The dragon stood up on it's hind legs and spread it's wings. The moonlight glowed around it, and the dragon began to shrink.

Lucy's breath was taken away as she watched the dragon shrink and grow smaller in size. It started taking on the form of a man, until finally, before her stood an actual man. He collapsed onto the ground in a shivering and shaking mess. The man was gasping and groaning in pain.

Happy spread his wings and flew into the cave, coming back out with the backpack and scarf. "Here," The cat whispered and placed it beside the man.

The man nodded his head, gently grasping the backpack and dragging it towards him. That was when Lucy noticed the man was completely naked. Her face exploded in red and she turned her back to him.

As Lucy stared at nothing, she remembered Erza's words from before. _"Lucy, I'm not sure how I feel about you going to the field every night alone. There's been rumors of some monster lurking in the woods around there."_ With Erza's words lingering in her mind, Lucy knew she should have listened and steered clear of the mysterious woods. If only her curiosity had ears she was sure she would have gone straight home after seeing what her eyes had just taken in.

A dragon had just turned into a man. A _dragon_ had just turned into a _man_.

"It's safe to look now," Happy meowed as the blue cat flew in front of her.

"Happy, you stupid tom cat, I thought I told you not to bring anyone here!" The man huffed from behind Lucy. Lucy turned around and jumped back when she came face to face with him. "You need to leave," He narrowed his eyes and tossed his scarf over his shoulder.

Lucy looked at him from head to toe. He was tall, and very muscular. His eyes were a fierce, dark green, and he looked almost frightening, but his hair ruined that image. His hair was pink and stuck up and pointed in every direction. In a way, it reminded her of a tame fire.

The man wore peculiar clothes for such a cold night. An open vest, baggy white pants, and sandals. The only part of his outfit that looked warm was his white scarf draped around his neck.

"Wh-what?" Lucy sputtered and took a step back, "I came here to see Natsu. Happy told me he was the one who helped me last night. I wanted to thank him."

"Well, your welcome. Now leave," The man shoved her aside and stamped to the cave.

Lucy whirled around and looked at him confused. "Wait, _you're_ Natsu? But, you just... you just shape shifted! You were a dragon and now you're a man! That shouldn't be possible!" Lucy pointed at him.

"Well, obviously it is, because that's what I just did." He glared at her with such a cold stare that Lucy was tempted to turn and run. "Why are you still here? Didn't I tell you to leave?" Natsu grumbled and sat down in front of the pile of burnt wood.

"I'm still here, because I want to know what the heck just happened. Also, I want to know why you've been following me. I know it was you I saw the other night," Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and started walking towards him.

"You _know_ what happened. You explained it yourself. I was a dragon, now I'm a man." Natsu stiffened and rubbed his hands together.

He snapped his fingers and a small flame blinked from his fingertips. He flattened out his hand and blew the small flare in the direction of the pile of wood. It danced in the air and once it came in contact with the dark wood, a fire blazed to life.

He waved his hand around it, and the fire grew in size. Lucy could feel it's warmth as she settled beside Natsu. She ignored Happy's warning look as she stared at the dancing fire.

"Now, answer my other question. Why have you been following me? You opened my window, too. Didn't you?" She confronted and turned to look at his face. She flinched when she caught his glare.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I've been followin' ya. Only because I want to know why you're so interested in the night sky, though."

"Oh," She nodded her head, "I'm fascinated by the stars and the moon, because my mother and I used to stargaze all the time when I was a young girl. She passed away when I was small. Whenever I stargaze, it's like I can feel her with me. It's like she never left." Realizing she had just told all of this to a stranger, Lucy blushed. She looked down at her hands then over her shoulder. She could see some stars above the trees if she looked outside the cave at the right angle.

"Really?" Natsu asked and he sounded intriqued. When Lucy turned to look at him, he was back to glaring at her. He scoffed and fiddled with his scarf. "Kinda like my dad and this scarf." He muttered out and then stiffened. He glowered at Lucy and stood up. "You should go," He mumbled and walked outside.

"What? But I want to know more about how you can go from a dragon to a man!" Lucy objected. She ran after him and slammed into his back when he suddenly stopped. "Hey, don't just stop in front of someone like that!" Lucy rubbed her nose and glared at him.

Natsu looked like he was about to laugh, but he caught himself and narrowed his eyes at her. "No, you don't want to know more," He grumbled and avoided eye contact. "Happy, you never answered my question! Why did you bring her here?"

"I didn't! She found her way here on her own, Natsu!" Happy argued and flew up to sit on his shoulder. The cat turned to glare at her and then hissed.

"You two are so rude!" Lucy put her hands on her hips, "I come here to thank you and this is the treatment I get! Do you have no manners?"

"I'm a dragon, I don't do the whole manners thing," Natsu snorted. He crossed his arms over his chest and tipped his head back at her. "What's your name anyway? You're pretty rude yourself if I've given my name, Happy's given his, but you haven't even introduced yourself."

"Ah!" Lucy gasped and was about to retort when she realized he was right. She puffed her cheeks up in aggrivation and scoffed. "My name is Lucy," She crossed her arms back at him, "I'm sure it's safe to say you're much more rude than I am." She stuck her tongue out at him and whirled around to sit in the dirt.

She leaned back on her hands and stared up at the night sky. She was about to start talking to the stars and look for constellations when Natsu walked up beside her. She looked up at him and rolled her eyes when he frowned at her.

"What are you doing?" He asked and leaned forward to get in her face.

"Well, I was going to stargaze, but someone's in the way." She answered.

Natsu looked at her hesitantly and then dropped down on the ground beside her. "Show me?" He asked and Lucy blinked at him.

"Um, okay, but I don't have much time." She explained, "I need to head back soon or my friends will start to worry."

"I'm fine with that," The man muttered softly and Lucy was sure she saw an embarrassed look on his face. When he caught her staring it vanished and turned into another frown.

"Sorry if Natsu comes across as mean, it's very rare that he gets to talk to other people. You know, because he's a dragon and all." Happy flicked his tail as he jumped down into Natsu's lap.

Natsu made a sound of complaint and glared at the blue tom cat. Lucy snickered behind her hand, but cut it short when Natsu scowled at her. She quickly went to show him a few constellations and smiled as she watched what she had thought was a permanent angry scowl, fade into a relaxed grin.

"And those are all the constellations I have time for, I really need to get back." Lucy said as she got to her feet. She looked around the at the darkness and woods that seemed to go on forever and froze. "I... I don't know my way back." She mumbled and looked down at Natsu, "I need a guide."

"Happy take her home," Natsu waved the blue cat out of his lap. "I'll fix us some fish and it'll be ready by the time you come back."

"Aye sir!" Happy saluted and bounded over to Lucy, "Let's go!" He jumped up into the air and spread his wings.

The two started walking back towards town. Lucy looked down at the blue cat and at the wings on his back. The fact he could fly, talk, and walk on two legs was odd. She looked over shoulder back in the direction of Natsu's cave. The fact he changed from a dragon to a man was even more bizarre! Everything about Natsu and Happy was just weird.

"So, why was Natsu so grumpy and angry tonight?" Lucy asked and then wrinkled her nose, "He's not always like that, is he?"

Happy sighed and looked back at the cave with a sad look, "No, he's just angry that you know what he is. He's normally hyper, obnoxious, and really fun to be around! Oh, I know, you should come again tomorrow night! He might be in a better mood then, but please, come after dark. He doesn't like it when people see him change."

Lucy nodded her head and paid attention to the path they were taking. She needed to remember how she got to the cave and back. She wanted to ask Happy more questions, but she didn't want to be nosy.

They were at clearing in no time at all and Lucy waved a farewell to Happy. When the cat waved his tail in reply, Lucy tried not to have a weird reaction. She would just have to get used to the talking cat. Looking back at the woods as she climbed the hill, Lucy frowned. Remembering how Happy had told her it was rare for Natsu to get visitors made her worry for the strange man. Clenching her fists, Lucy secretly decided she'd try and be his friend, so that way he wouldn't be lonely anymore.

* * *

 **WOOO, THAT TOOK FOREVER! Goodness grief, I hate writer's block so much. I got stuck and didn't know how to continue this and I got scared, because like I'm always worried that writer's block will never go away! I defeated it though! By reading, listening to music, and sneaking writing in between all that. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, because when I wrote Natsu changing from a dragon to a man I couldn't stop squirming in my seat with excitement! That's my favorite part out of this whole entire chapter. SO YEAH! LUCY AND NATSU FINALLY MEET :D**

 ** _Books books and books~_**

 ** _SO, currently, the book I am reading is title The Time Travelers: Book One In The Gideon Trilogy. It's really interesting! I like it a lot so far. I love how Peter and Kate interact with each other. I like them as a brotp, ya know? :P_**

 **SO ANYWAY! I was rushed to post this chapter. I'd already posted it to Tumblr and I wasn't sure if I was gonna get it posted here around the same time. My dad, brother, and I are gonna go see Jurassic World. JURASSIC WORLD! CHRIS PRATT AND DINOSAURS FOR TWO HOURS. THERE'S NOTHING BETTER THAN THAT, RIGHT? Oh, well, -ahem-, actually, if Natsu Dragneel were real then yeah there would be something better than Chris Pratt and dinosaurs for two hours... ehehuehuehue~**

 **YEH! Terribly sorry it took so long to update! Writer's block is a pain in the butt! The reviews really helped me though, the fact that other people enjoy reading this just as much as I enjoy writing it is very encouraging. So, as always, until next time~ Please leave a review if you can! :) ^^**


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five.**

* * *

Monday morning at The Fairy's Delight was busy beyond imagination. Lucy felt sympathy towards Juvia, it was obvious the woman's first day was going to be difficult. Hurriedly giving Juvia a quick rundown of what to do, Lucy put on her apron and ran into the kitchen. She started a fire below the oven and scurried around pulling out ingredients and mixing bowls and other baking utensils.

"Juvia can't bake, remember?" Juvia spoke nervously and Lucy nodded her head.

"That's why you'll be working behind the counter! Take people's orders, count the pay, put the money in the drawer right there, give me the order, and then when I give you a plate of cookies or whatever it is they ordered, you'll put it in the glass case and start delivering." Lucy explained in a rushed manner as she poured flower into four mixing bowls and started making dough for cookies, mix for cake, and bread. She looked up at Juvia and gave her an encouraging smile when she saw a nervous frown on the woman's face. "Chin up, buttercup!" Lucy winked and pointed at the counter, "We won't open right away, I have to get some things baked and ready to go or else people will get way too impatient and leave, though that rarely happens it's best to be prepared."

Juvia nodded her head and turned around to set up the front of the bakery. Lucy went back to her own job and started serving balls of cookie dough on the cookie sheets. She began her dance again, skipping, prancing, leaping all around the kitchen as she started baking and serving up the food.

Lucy and Juvia both opened up the shop and gave a rushed greeting before running back towards the front counter and the kitchen. Everyone was curious as to who Juvia was and when she had started working. Word had gotten out that Lucy had hired someone and that only beckoned more customers. The only complaint the two women had was about how busy and rushed everything was.

Juvia was scribbling orders down, counting up money, and delivering at mad speed. People smiled at her and were kind and patient when they realized it was her first day of work. Lucy and Juvia would share bits and pieces of small talk when Lucy would run up to the window that connected the dining area and the kitchen. She'd hand Juvia a sheet of cookies, a platter of cake, and pans of bread before whirling around to go back to her main focus of baking.

Lucy found herself able to work with a bright smile on her face. She was elated to have someone working with her. No matter the amount of customers that used to come waltzing in, Lucy would still find herself feeling lonely when she'd be by herself at the end of the day. She sent millions of encouraging smiles and thumbs up to Juvia.

"Whoa! Mommy, there's a new lady here, and she's pretty!" A little boy exclaimed and pointed at Juvia. "I want a chocolate chip cookie, and a roll! My brother loves rolls," The boy's green eyes shined brightly.

"Yes, of course, give Juvia one moment." Juvia ran back into the kitchen grabbed what the boy had requested and skipped back out, handing the boy the bag with the cookie and roll in it. Juvia patted the boy's black hair and smiled at his mother. "Five jewel, please, and thank you very much!"

The mother and the boy thanked Juvia for the fast and friendly service and walked out of the shop. The little boy waved at Juvia with the cookie in his mouth as they walked past the windows. Lucy laughed softly when she saw Juvia wave in reply. It was obvious the woman was enjoying her job.

The rest of the day was very much like that morning. People rushing in and out, Juvia and Lucy running about. For Lucy, it was the usual and she wasn't tired until that evening when business began to simmer down. For Juvia, it was difficult work and the woman was ready to collapse by noon.

The sky outside was crimson from the setting sun and as Juvia served the final customer, she dropped down into the chair that was behind her. "Oh, Juvia is exhausted! She never knew working in a bakery was so difficult!" She laughed causing Lucy to snort.

A few of the customers in the dining area chuckled along with them. "You girls sure could use more helping hands, eh?" One woman added with an amused smile. "Lucy, what you need is a sign at your window saying you're hiring!"

Lucy nodded her head and wiped her sweaty brow, "Yes, I do need to do that, but right now, I'm fine with it being just Juvia and I." She smiled and turned her attention back to the kitchen. It was a complete mess. Batter, mixes, and dough was all of the counters and floor and even some on the walls! Lucy snorted when she realized just how big of a mess she managed to make.

She started cleaning up and her eyes wandered over to a piece of paper sitting on the counter by the oven. Recognizing the recipe for cinnamon rolls, Lucy froze. She looked at the sky that was still burning red from the setting sun. She scrambled over to the counter, snatched up the recipe and began reading ingredients. She muttered off the measuring and counted things up on her fingers. Grabbing a mixing bowl, Lucy rinsed it out and dropped it on the counter. She grabbed a bag of flour, sugar, and other needed ingredients. She started mixing up the dough for the rolls and she looked around the room to see what she could use to mix the filling and glaze in.

"Lucy, what are you doing, aren't we closing soon?" Juvia asked as she entered the kitchen. She walked up to Lucy peered into the bowl and raised an eyebrow. When her eyes landed on the recipe, Juvia gasped. "You are testing the cinnamon rolls?"

"Mmhmm," Lucy grunted. She grabbed two more mixing bowls and washed out the remains of dough and cake batter. She looked at the recipe again and started dumping the things needed for the filling into one of the bowls. "It's my mother's recipe, she used to make them all the time and they were delicious! My father sent it to me with the letter he wrote. He gave it to me to add to the bakery. Which reminds me I _still_ need to send my letter to him. I'll have to do it tomorrow..."

"Lucy's father sounds lovely already!" Juvia whispered and looked at the bowl full of glaze curiously. Her eyes glimmered with desire and before Lucy could stop her, Juvia dipped a finger into the bowl and stuck it in her mouth. "Oooh!" She exclaimed when she tasted the sugary sweetness, "That is yummy! Juvia wants more!"

"Juvia, no!" Lucy laughed and bumped the woman with her hip. "You need to start cleaning the dining area! If there's any left over when I'm done baking, I'll be sure to let you lick the bowl clean, okay?" Lucy couldn't help herself, the fact someone was going to be licking the bowl clean made her giggle. Juvia skipped out of the room, content with the deal Lucy had given.

As Lucy continued baking, her mind wandered. She started thinking of going to the clearing and that led to visiting Natsu and Happy. She flinched just the slightest bit. Happy had mentioned Natsu rarely had visitors. That had to meant the two were lonely, didn't it? Lucy looked out the window above the kitchen sink and pursed her lips.

She knew what it felt like to be lonely. She stiffened and shook her head. Even though she knew what it was like, she knew she was no longer alone. She had her father, Levy, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, and Juvia now. How could she be lonely with so many loved ones surrounding her?

Mixing the dough a bit more, she started setting swirled rolls on a cookie sheet. She followed the recipe and soon enough she pranced over to put the cinnamon rolls in the oven. Her mouth was watering already, she was beyond excited to be baking her mother's recipe. She wanted to go share them with Natsu and Happy. She'd used the treat as an excuse to visit them. 'I thought you guys would like a sweet treat!' Lucy thought the excuse over in her head.

"Lucy! Juvia is done cleaning. Everyone has left and gone home by now… When will the cinnamon rolls be done?" Juvia licked her lips as she leaned through the window in the wall that separated the kitchen and the front of the bakery. "They smell delicious!"

"Goodness, you're impatient when it comes to food!"

"Juvia has been around sweet treats all day long on an empty stomach, of course she'd be impatient for food!"

The two girls laughed and Lucy passed Juvia a spoonful of the glaze that was to decorate and add to the top of the cinnamon rolls. Checking the oven, Lucy scurried over and pulled the treats out. She blew on the top of them, trying to cool them down and hurried over to the open counter space. She snatched the spoon from Juvia before she had the chance of eating the glaze served on it.

"Aww!" Juvia whined and crossed her arms.

"Almost done, I promise you'll get the first bite and you can lick the bowl clean, okay?" Lucy muttered offhandedly as she finished dressing up the cinnamon rolls. Drizzling glaze on the last cinnamon roll, Lucy picked one up and handed it to Juvia. "Bon appetit!" Lucy smiled.

The two ate their cinnamon rolls in silence. Lucy was excited and shocked when she tasted how perfect her first batch of cinnamon rolls were. Juvia seemed to be enjoying just as much, judging from how she scrambled to grab another and swiped at the bowl full of leftover glaze.

The sky outside was dark by now, clouds floating in the far distance. Lucy frowned, she'd need to hurry if she wanted to stargaze. It looked like it was going to snow soon, and while Lucy loved the snow, she hated how the sky blocked the stars from her view.

She sighed when she realized she still need to clean the messy kitchen. Grabbing a washcloth and tossing the bowls into the sink, Lucy set to work. She would glance out the window every few minutes, checking the sky and wondering if she'd have time to go stargaze and visit Natsu and Happy. Juvia started helping once she'd finished cleaning the bowl of glaze. She marched over with a satisfied smile and complimented Lucy's baking.

"Those were the best cinnamon rolls Juvia has ever tasted! She is sure they will be popular with the bakery!" She smiled as she dried and stacked the dishes on the counter beside the sink.

The sweeping and mopping was a breeze when it was done with two people. Lucy and Juvia were ready to close up the bakery in no time at all. Patting her hands on her apron, Lucy tugged it over her head and hung it on the coat rack. She made sure she had the bag full of cinnamon rolls for Natsu and Happy before locking and shutting the door.

"Well, Juvia, I'd have to say your first day of work at The Fairy's Delight was a success!" Lucy exclaimed as she tucked her keys into her coat pocket.

"Juvia loves the bakery! It's so much fun and the people that come in are so nice! They were very patient, even when she messed up on the orders a bit." She giggled sheepishly and prodded her fingers together. "Juvia cannot wait for tomorrow! She will get lots of rest so she will not be so exhausted throughout the day!"

"I hope you get lots of rest. I remember my first day of hard, fast work like today. It was so tiring and when I got home I was so exhausted I went to bed without dinner!" Lucy laughed as the memory came to her mind. She remembered how shocked she was to see the group of people waiting at her door and how overwhelmed she had been by the shouting.

"It amazes Juvia how Lucy was able to work by herself with such a busy bakery everyday…" Juvia marveled. She smiled at Lucy from the corner of her eye and the two stopped when they came to the corner of Main Street that turned on to Strawberry Street. "Go enjoy you stargazing, Juvia will tell Erza and Levy where you went. Be safe!"

"I will," Lucy nodded her head and clutched the bag in her hand tighter. "I'm going to snack on these while I stargaze," She lied. She couldn't tell Juvia that she had found a shape shifting man and was planning to befriend him. She'd send her to the asylum right away! She bit her lip and waved at Juvia as she turned and continued her walk to the clearing.

As she walked she passed by a group of girls enjoying their own night out. They seemed to have come from the bar, because one of the girls seemed to be having a hard time walking. Her friends were giggling and complaining as they helped her along the way.

"Shhh, Mary, you drank too much tonight! Goodness!" Laughed one of the ladies.

"I told you guys she was a lightweight!" One woman cackled from behind the group. Lucy's ears recognized the voice and a smile curled at her lips when a certain brunette came to mind.

"Cana! Did you challenge another poor girl to a drinking contest?" Lucy called out accusingly. She stood up on her tip toes to peer behind the stumbling girls.

Cana was a woman whom Lucy had never pictured she'd become best friends with. Cana was an alcoholic. No matter how much beer, wine, rum, or whatever other alcohol related drink she consumed, the woman was able to contain herself. Sure she'd get drunk, but since she was always drinking, she'd never have a hangover or pass out from too much. It was one of the many unladylike features Cana possessed.

Cana dressed completely opposite of Lucy. Lucy usually wore pretty, frilly dresses. Cana wore tight vests that showed her bosom and pants that were tailored more for men than women. Needless to say, Cana broke countless boundaries.

Lucy met Cana when she was on her way home. Cana had been stumbling around, mindlessly drunk and had walked into the Lucy. After prying Cana's hands away from her breasts and butt, Lucy helped Cana home. The next day, Cana marched into Lucy's bakery, thanked her, and invited her to joining her for a drink. It was an odd way for friends to meet, but not as bizarre as Lucy and Gray's introductions.

"Lucy! Ah, nah, she challenged me all on her own, hehe! I knew she was a lightweight from the start, it was obvious. Oh, speaking of lightweights, how're you?" Cana snickered and slung her arm around Lucy's shoulders. Cana looked up the street and then back at Lucy, "Stargazing? Want some company to keep ya warm?" Cana offered with a smirk.

Lucy rolled her eyes and turned around to face Cana, "No, I'll be fine on my own. You wouldn't want to hear me ramble to the stars anyway. Thank you, though." Lucy whirled around again, dress billowing around her as she started walking off.

"Hey! Tomorrow night! Have a drink with me, it gets boring with the all the other guys and gals. I want a friend to pass the time. Also, I will most definitely need a friend, Gildarts'll be there and you know how he gets around me. All protective and mushy over his daughter, I need someone to keep me sane with the silly old man." Cana snickered.

"Of course, I haven't seen Gildarts in awhile so I'll be there. Oh! Can I bring a friend?"

"Yeah, sure!"

"Great, I'll see you and Gildarts tomorrow then, bye!" Lucy waved at Cana and hurried. She was losing time to visit Natsu and Happy. If she took too long, Erza would surely come looking for her. Lucy didn't really feel like explaining why she was in the forest and not where she said she'd be to a worried and angry Erza.

* * *

Sliding down the hill, Lucy smiled up at the night sky. She waved at the stars as she ran to the woods and ducked into the darkness. She looked at the bag in her hands, smiling when she thought of Natsu's reaction when she gave them to him. Would he be excited? She snorted, who wouldn't be excited about cinnamon rolls?

Leaves crunched under Lucy's feet and she suppressed a yawn. She looked at the sky above her as she walked and smiled. It was freezing cold, but the coat on her back kept her warm. The bag of cinnamon rolls in her hands helped her fingers stay warm, too. She looked ahead of her and froze when she heard the sound of twig snapping.

"I'm telling you Happy, something just doesn't smell normal. It's a good smell, a _really_ good smell, but it sure doesn't belong in my woods." Natsu's voice tickled Lucy's ears. A few seconds later and Natsu himself jumped out from behind a tree. He tackled Lucy to the ground and was staring her dead in the eye. "It was you! Wait, no, it's this bag. What's in there. It smells amazing! Can I have one? Whatever it is?" Natsu snatched the bag from Lucy's hand and pulled a cinnamon roll from it. His eyes widened at it and he turned it around in his hand. "A cinnamon roll…" He trailed off and licked his lips.

"Could you kindly get off?" Lucy grumbled. Natsu was still pinning her to the ground. He was oblivious to her red face and the way she was glaring at him. When he didn't oblige, Lucy kicked. "OFF!" She screeched and waved her arms madly.

In her mess of scrambling, kicking, and waving arms, Lucy knocked the cinnamon roll out of Natsu's hand. The baked good went soaring through the air. Natsu gasped and tried to catch, but it was out of his reach too quickly. A whining sound came from the back of his throat when it looked like it was about to hit the ground, but Happy swooped in and caught it just in time.

"Yum!" He cried out when he licked it curiously.

"Hey! That's mine!" Natsu growled and jumped to his feet. "Luigi brought that for me! Right, Luigi?"

Lucy gasped and stumbled to her feet. She pointed an accusing finger at him and was about to yell at him for getting her name wrong when she realized how ridiculously he messed up her name. Confusion swept her brow and she gawked at him. "How in the world do you get Lucy confused for Luigi?" She wondered aloud and shook her head.

"Oh, sorry." Natsu snickered and then glared at Happy again. "Hey! That's mine! Lucy brought that for me! Right, Luce?" He repeated every word and raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're an idiot, there's another one in the bag." Lucy sighed.

"Ooh, there is…" Natsu exclaimed. He opened up the bag and snatched the extra cinnamon roll with wiggling fingers. When he took it out of the bag he gobbled it in one bite. "Damn, that's good stuff!" He hummed around a mouthful of food. "You make this, Luce?"

'He still gets my name wrong!' Lucy grumbled in her thoughts, but decided to let it slide. She liked the sound of her name shorted for some reason. She smiled and nodded her head, "Yes, I made these today, I'm thinking of adding them to the menu at my bakery."

"You own a bakery!?" Natsu and Happy gasped in unison.

"Oh, so that's why you smell so good…" Natsu cupped his hand under his chin and put on a thoughtful look. Natsu gasped and snapped his fingers, "That's it. You're bringing us yummy snacks every night. That's an order!" Natsu pointed at her and smiled boldly.

"What!? No, nuh-uh! I am not your servant, I am not a slave! I will bring snacks when I feel like it, you're welcome by the way." Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and stalked past Natsu and his infuriating blue cat. "And don't make comments about how I smell! That's creepy and makes you even more of a pervert!" She screeched, shaking clenched fists in the air as she walked.

She heard Natsu and Happy scrambling after her and she sighed. A smile took over her face, they had liked her cinnamon rolls. She almost punched the air in triumph, but remembering she was mad at Natsu for ordering her around and making a weird comment about her smelling good, Lucy huffed. Who did he think he was? She puffed her cheeks when he fell into step beside her, arms crossed behind his head, smirk spreading on his lips.

"So, I take it you aren't here to only give us the cinnamon rolls?" He asked and smiled at her. "Why'd you come back? Nobody usually does after discovering I'm actually a… dragon." He hesitated at the last word. Lucy raised an eyebrow at how difficult it seemed for him to say. She'd have to learn how to avoid saying it if it bothered him so much.

She shrugged, "Happy invited me, and I thought you'd like to eat something sweet…" She used that for an excuse and gave herself a mental pat on the back when Natsu bought it. She was too embarrassed to tell him she came because she wanted to be friends with him.

They kept walking until they approached Natsu's cave. Natsu and Lucy climbed up the hill, Happy teased them while he flew to the top. Lucy sat on the edge and swung her feet back and forth. She stared up at the stars and smiled.

They twinkled brightly up the sky, the half-moon lit up the sky making the stars seem brighter. Lucy closed her eyes and shivered when a cold wind tore through, hitting her in the back. She reached up and let her hair tumble free from the tight bun she'd brushed it up in that morning.

"Cold?" Natsu asked, bending down to sit beside her. He stretched his arms above his head and groaned loudly. While he stretched, Lucy noticed the air around them growing warmer. She raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Natsu. He didn't look any different, he was relaxed as he leaned on his hands and stared up at the sky.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't really sure now, her coat was cozy and with her hair down and covering the back of her neck it wasn't as bad. She looked at Natsu out of the corner of her eye, he could be using his dragon-like powers to be making the air them warm. She felt like asking, but was afraid he'd turn a cold shoulder and grow quiet.

"Hey, have you ever talked to the stars?" Lucy asked, she needed to distract her mind from blurting out her curiosity of the man beside her.

"What?" Natsu tipped his head back and let out a laugh, "No," he smirked at her, "Only weirdos like you talk to the stars." He snorted.

Lucy frowned, "That's rude," She turned to look up at the sky. "My father talks to the stars, and so did my mother. I've always talked to them. Sometimes I talk to my mom while I'm at it." She kept staring at the moon and stars, afraid that if she turned to look at Natsu she'd see him laughing again.

"Oh… well, think you could show me some more constellations?" Natsu cleared his throat.

Lucy nodded and started pointing at the constellations. She started telling stories as she did. She told how her first day of stargazing went and how she had greeted the stars when she was little. She sometimes found herself rambling, eyes locked on the sky, then she'd remember that Natsu and Happy were sitting beside her. Natsu would snicker at her when she forgot, calling her weird for talking to balls of gas that were millions of miles away.

Lucy felt herself growing tired, she covered a yawn with her hand and rubbed her heavy eyes. She sat up straight and sighed when she returned her gaze to the night sky. The clouds she had noticed in the distance were rolling in and already covered half the sky. She frowned and clasped her hands together.

"I hope I see you tomorrow night," She whispered to the sky above, "Stupid clouds messing up everything," She mumbled without realizing. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on top of them.

"You really love stargazing, huh?" Natsu muttered. He stood up on his feet and stretched, "Well, I've got stuff to do and you've been here for awhile now, your friends are probably wondering when you'll get back."

Lucy gasped and jumped to her feet. "Oh, you're right. I'll see you tomorrow night! Bye Natsu, Happy!" Lucy waved as she slid down the hill. She was about to go run to the clearing when she remembered Cana's invitation. She skidded to a halt and whirled around. "Wait! Natsu, want to go the bar with me tomorrow night?"

"Wow, you're really speedin' things up. Like me that much already, eh?" He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Pervert! That's not what I meant! My friend Cana invited me and said I could bring a friend, I thought you'd like to get away from you dirty cave and insane cat."

"Hey!" Happy protested and narrowed his eyes at her. He flicked his tail at her and narrowed his eyes, "You're the craziest one here, Lucy."

Natsu cackled as the two started arguing and jumped down to stand in front of Lucy. "Yeah, sure, I don't care, but I won't stay for long. I don't really like the city that much, it's too noisy and smells weird." He scrunched his face up to prove his point and Lucy snickered.

"When you're ready just come to the clearing, I'll be at the top of the hill."

"Aye!" He salute with a silly grin. "Later, Lucy." He waved and looked at Happy. The cat had flown down to perch on his shoulder, "Ready to go fishing, buddy?"

"Aye sir!" The cat purred.

"Bye guys," Lucy smiled and the three went their separate ways. Lucy skipped home, humming happily to herself. She was excited about the friendship she had started with Natsu and Happy.

Natsu had been completely different tonight. He had been cheery, obnoxious, and very annoying. Lucy wondered if that's what Happy had meant by Natsu being fun. She rolled her eyes, if Natsu was always like that she wasn't sure how she was going to stand him. She couldn't but giggle though, his excitement over the cinnamon rolls she had brought had been pretty cute.

She hurried home, excited about the night she and Cana had planned. She wondered how Natsu was going to act around a huge group of people, if he and Happy didn't get visitors to their cave very often, then surely it'd been awhile since they'd gone to town. The fact he had mentioned he didn't care for the city made her wonder exactly how long it'd been since he last went through Magnolia.

Shrugging, Lucy decided she wouldn't worry about it too much, she'd keep herself focused on the bakery and the night of fun Cana was most definitely going to deliver.

* * *

 **OKOKOKOK SO. THIS THING IS BASED OFF THE FAIRY TALE THE SWAN PRINCESS OKAY ANNNDDD I REWATCHED THE MOVIE LAST WEEK AND GOT SO MANY GREAT IDEAS AND OOOHHOHOHOHOHO i'm gonna end you. Ohhhh you guys have no idea of what evil things I have planned like you don't even KNOW. I love being a writer bc as a writer I know what's gonna happen but you as a reader DON'T -points and laughs- WOO**

 **Okay I'm sorry, I think I'm done being crazy for now. Ehem so this chapter took forever bc** **my computer froze while I was writing this and I had to restart it. I lost what I'd originally written for this chapter bc** **it didn't save the chapter I had previously written so I had to go back and REWRITE THIS WHOLE THING SO I'M SORRY IF THIS CHAPTER IS CRAP. OH and yeeahh bringing Cana into this ^-^ I love Cana. Oh and Gildarts too!**

 **Anyhoodiddlydo~**

 _ **Books books and books**_

 _ **Right now I'm reading All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I'm reading this book for a class assignment. I'm trying AP classes this year and I'm gonna be doing AP English and AP American History. AP English I have to do a letter of introduction -gag- and a book report -cringe- I hate doing book reports. I hate being forced to read a book. I read for fun, not because I have to. Anyway. What's frustration is I actually REALLY LIKE THIS BOOK BUT THE FACT I KNOW IT'S A SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT MY BRAIN IS LIKE 'Eheehe procrastination!' and yeah. I'm a professional at procrastination and it's not a good thing tbh.**_

 **OH AND I probably won't be updating for awhile, I am going to church camp next week and writing these chapters takes me awhile bc even though I love writing I do have to take breaks and stuff. So it may be like two weeks b4 I update, sorry. Also, my NaLu week stuff will be late. I'm sorry. I don't even know if I'm gonna finish all the prompts. but oh well. what I get done will be what I get done.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I'm not real happy with it ? I think it's bc this is the second time I've had to write it, but IDK. ALSO quick shoutout to VIPluvFT for guessing what I was gonna do! Natsu and Happy got to taste the cinnamon rolls and here -gives you a virtual cinnamon roll- You can have one too :D**

 **So, okie dokie lokie, I think that's it! Please leave a review! ANd until next time~ :)**


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six.**

* * *

"Ah! Wait!" Lucy called to the mail carrier, she dashed up to the little boy and handed him the letter she'd written. "This goes to my father, Jude Heartfilia." Lucy informed him and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear when he broke off into a run down the street.

"I see you wrote the reply to your dad," Erza called from the kitchen when Lucy came walking back inside. She smiled at Lucy and then went back to cleaning up the mess she'd made while making breakfast for the others.

Lucy nodded her head and kicked the door shut behind her. She let loose a heavy sigh as her eyes traveled up the stairs. She'd decided to keep the bakery closed today, Juvia hadn't been feeling well, and Lucy needed a break from the busy bakery. She'd posted a sign up on the front door and could tell many of the people in town were upset and disappointed by it.

Lucy was worried about Juvia, had she overworked her? That was obvious, it had been Juvia's first day of work. Neither were given time to take a break, they were both forced to go through the day nonstop! Lucy tugger her hand through her hair, she felt horrible. She needed to start planning breaks for the two of them.

Looking outside the window and up at the sky, Lucy wondered what she'd do for the remainder of the day. She was excited about going to the bar with Cana, Gildarts, and Natsu. She was also nervous. Natsu had mentioned he wasn't comfortable in the city. What had that meant? Was it truly what he'd blamed it on? The smell and loud noises or was there more to it?

Surely there had to be more than that. she nodded her head curtly and slipped her shoes off, setting them in row with the other boots and shoes. She padded into the livingroom and plopped down onto the couch. She looked up at the ceiling and let her eyes wander freely. She and the others had done a wonderful job with the books and bookshelves. It made the livingroom feel more lived in, it wasn't cluttered, but it wasn't empty either.

The bookshelves were shoved up against the wall on both sides of the fireplace. They went together in the most amazing way. Lucy wondered why they hadn't thought of it before. She stood up to her feet and shuffled over to one of the bookshelves. Running her finger along the spines of the novels, she hummed softly. She wasn't sure what she was going to read yet.

Pulling a book out by random, Lucy went back to the couch and relaxed back as she opened the novel and let her eyes take in what was before her. Her eyes darted from left to right, she hadn't read this one before, which was shocking. Levy had gone book shopping awhile back, this had probably been one of the many books the petite woman had bought.

"I'm leaving for the blacksmith. Make sure to check on Juvia, Lucy. She is feeling terribly and I'm sure she'd be much happier with someone to talk to," Erza shouldered her coat onto her back, giving Lucy a demanding smile.

"I was planning on fixing her chicken broth and check on her from time to time. I'm to blame for her being ill, so I'll be sure to keep her as comfortable as possible. I just hope she gets better fast." Lucy frowned. She tried to shy away from Erza's bossy aura, but it was difficult. Erza was a very intimidating woman.

"Good, I'll be leaving now, see you at dinner."

"Bye, Erza."

The door shut behind the scarlet woman, and Lucy picked up her book again. She decided to finish the first chapter and then go check in on Juvia. It was very quiet upstairs, perhaps the woman was sleeping. Lucy yawned and felt her eyes growing heavy. The thought of sleep was reminding her of how little rest she'd gotten the night before. She closed her book and set it down on the coffee table, deciding to check on Juvia before she passed out.

She trotted up the stairs, and towards Juvia's room. Cracking open the door, Lucy peered in and her eyes fell on Juvia's bed. The woman was sound asleep, her soft snores could be heard from the front of the bedroom. Lucy closed the door and when she turned around to go into her room, she almost tripped over her dog Plue.

"One of these days you're gonna make me fall down, and Plue, if I go down, I'm taking you with me." Lucy snickered as she bent down and picked up the fluffy pup. She skipped over to her bed, plopped down and cuddle Plue close to her chest. "Gonna take a quick nap, then I'll get to cleaning around and starting some soup for Juvia…" Lucy muttered.

She closed her eyes and within seconds she was drifting off.

 _Lucy opened her eyes, wrinkling her brow in confusion. She looked all around herself, wondering where she was. She didn't recognize her surroundings. She was in a cave. At first she thought it was Natsu's, but the more she looked around, the more foreign the cave felt._

 _Natsu's cave felt warm and welcoming. This cave felt cold and unsettling. It was dark all around her, critters and rodents crawled around, and in the distant she could hear footsteps. Fear crawled up her spine, causing Lucy to take a step back._

 _Heart racing, breath ragged, Lucy turned around and started running. She wasn't sure what she was running from, she didn't want to know. Something told her it was horrible and evil… whatever it was that was following her._

 _Her footsteps were taking her nowhere, she was merely running in place. She could hear whoever was walking behind her getting closer. She risked a look over her shoulder and immediately regretted it. She could just make out their silhouette stalking towards her._

 _She let out a breathy scream, throwing her arms out before her to give her that extra push to get running again. It did nothing for her though, and soon enough, someone was snatching her wrist and turning her around to face them._

"A-Ah!" Lucy gasped and sat up so suddenly, that she sent Plue toppling into her lap. She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead as she looked all around her room. It had only been a nightmare. Hearing a soft whimper, Lucy looked down at Plue and smiled gently. "Just a bad dream, boy. Don't worry…"

She shuddered when part of her wondered if that had really been a dream. Some said your subconscious wandered about as you slept, returning to you when you woke up. It would travel the world, picking up things to put in your dreams. The exciting, odd, terrifying, or unsettling things were what the mind remembered the most. Lucy hoped that wasn't true, she really wanted that to only be a bad dream, but part of her was saying it wasn't just a nightmare.

Shaking her head and telling herself not to overthink it, Lucy swung her legs to the side of the bed and stood up. Plue hopping down the ground, scampering around her feet then dashing out of the room and down the stairs. Lucy snorted as she followed after him, she needed to get started on the soup for Juvia and get to cleaning. The apartment wasn't dirty, but it sure would get that way if she didn't keep after the small messes.

"Here you go, Juvia," Lucy sighed as she handed the bowl of soup and a cup of water to her friend. "I'm sorry I overworked you yesterday, I feel horrible."

"Don't blame yourself, Lucy. Juvia is just not accustomed to hard work. She loves working at the bakery!" Juvia smiled sipping a spoonful of the warm substance. She yawned and rubbed her tired eyes, then gave Lucy a weary smile. "Juvia is really not that hungry, but she is grateful for the soup Lucy made for her," She muttered as she handed Lucy the empty bowl.

"Okay, then just get some rest," Lucy rubbed the bluenette's shoulder as she took the bowl from her. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything, okay?"

Closing the door behind her, Lucy padded downstairs and began to tidy up the place. She hummed, sang, and talked to Plue as she did. Thoughts of going to the bar with Cana, Gildarts, and Natsu filled her mind. She wondered what all they would talk about. Wondering if she would learn more about Natsu. She grimaced when she thought about Cana and Gildarts giving her a hard time about meeting a boy.

She stiffened when she realized a problem, though. What if Cana and Gildarts started asking questions about Natsu. "Where did you meet him?" They surely hadn't seen anyone like Natsu around Magnolia before. She knew they were going to ask him every question that came to mind, Cana was very protective of her friends. Gildarts was like a second father to her so Lucy knew he'd do the same.

She groaned as she fell down onto the couch, letting the broom topple to the ground. "This isn't going to be good…" She mumbled into her hands. "I can't tell them the truth, they'd never believe it! They'd send us to the nearest asylum if they heard mine and Natsu's story."

Lucy stood up and smiled at the empty arm chair on the other side of coffee table. "Where I met him? Oh, well, you see… I went crashing about into the woods when Plue dashed off. I hit my head on a branch and Natsu saved me. The next night I wanted to thank the person who had helped me and came across a dragon. But that dragon turned into a man! Yeah, that's Natsu! That's how we met!" Lucy snapped her fingers and threw her head back and laughed. She cringed up at the ceiling and smacked her hands on either side of her head. "I'm doomed~" She groaned and sank back into the couch.

Deciding to take a break, Lucy lied down. She'd worry about the mess of a story she and Natsu would have to come up with later. She just needed a nap. She closed her eyes, let out a deep sigh, and fell asleep within seconds.

 _Lucy was in the same cave as before. That same person from before was grabbing her wrist, yanking her harshly as they started walking further and further into the darkness of the cave. Lucy screamed, kicked, punched, but none of it worked. The person's free hand slapped over her mouth, muffling her protests._

 _Lucy's eyes burned with terrified tears, she had no idea what was going on. This all felt very, very real to her. She shook her head, wasn't this just a dream, no, a nightmare? She closed her eyes, trying to tell herself to wake up, but to no avail._

 _As she was being dragged deeper into the cave, Lucy noticed that it was starting to get even darker and scarier. Bones of animals, some even people, were littered everywhere. Dull torches were hung on the walls as a light source, providing very little light. A disgusting smell overwhelmed Lucy's nose, causing her eyes to water even further._

 _The person dragging her came to a halt, she wanted to look at who was taking her, but was afraid. She was scared of what she'd see. The hand around her wrist disappeared, the sound of footsteps walking around to stand in front of her replaced it._

 _"Lucy Heartfilia," The voice that spoke was booming deep and rough as rusted nails. The man standing before her was terrifying. She had to clench her jaw tight in order not to scream._

 _The man glaring down at her was more than terrifying, Lucy couldn't find a word good enough to label him as that scary. His hair, which was much like Gajeel's, but bigger and more out of control,it flowed down his back, shining a shocking blue. His eyes were as black as coal and his teeth were sharper than daggers. His broad shoulders were set back, his fists clenched ready to fight at a moment's notice. He narrowed his eyes at her and crouched down._

 _"What do you know of Natsu," He spat, as he-_

"Lucy, wake up!"

Lucy gasped and shoved away whoever was shaking her. She sat up at light speed, blinking with shocked eyes. She, thankfully, cut off her scream that she was about to let out. Juvia was standing in front of her, looking very worried.

"Juvia heard you crying out for help, and then a scream, you were having a nightmare…" Juvia wrung her hands together. The woman sighed in relief, turning to the side to cough a few times. "You scared Juvia very much, Lucy."

"Oh! I'm sorry! I… my nightmare… it was pretty bad…" Lucy grimaced. "Thank you for waking me, Juvia." Lucy hugged herself. She stood up and fixed a firm stare on her friend. "Now back to bed with you, you should be resting!" She shooed the bluenette, ignoring the grumble of complaint that resounded from her.

"Juvia's been in bed all morning, she wants to move around a little…" She coughed and shivered.

"Move upstairs then, walking around just a little bit like you are now will be enough. If you don't rest you'll only get sicker, and I won't let that happen! Not on my watch," Lucy argued, setting her fists on her hips.

She waved her hands at Juvia again, shooing the woman to go back upstairs. She wasn't going to let her friend get worse. She watched Juvia trudge upstairs and waited to hear her bedroom door shut before looking around the house.

Lucy sighed in relief, no cleaning needed to be done, she could read and relax. She didn't plan on going back to sleep, she didn't want a repeat of that horrendous nightmare. It was confusing, she'd never had a repeat of a dream or nightmare before.

What if it had meant something? The man had asked about Natsu before Juvia had woken her up. Lucy shivered as she returned to her spot on the couch, it was creepy. She shook it off though, most dreams were just jumbled thoughts of the brain all thrown together. Maybe it was just a coincidence and it was just the aftershock of the nightmare that was scaring her.

In fact, the nightmares were already starting to fade away. She could barely remember what the man looked like, she could only remember that he had mentioned Natsu and that he had captured her. Lucy sighed and leaned back into the cushions of the couch, she was just going to relax and enjoy her book, that was all she had in her agenda for the day. That, and go to the bar with Natsu, Cana, and Gildarts later that evening.

She picked up where she left off, diving into the world of fictional characters and ignoring anything and everything around her. The only time she was brought out of her fantasies was when she got up to check on Juvia.

* * *

The snow was falling softly, quietly, and slowly. It was peaceful. It would have been enjoyable if it hadn't been so bitterly cold. Lucy huffed, narrowing her eyes as the puff of breath vanished in the air. She tightened her coat, shivering underneath its heavy warmth, trying her best to stay cozy. The sun had set long ago, but people were still walking about.

Couples strolling about, enjoying the romantic light snowfall. Children racing about, giggling and laughing as they started snowball fights.

It was a lovely sight, causing Lucy to smile. The people of Magnolia were so friendly, but the friendliness of the city always grew come winter time. They were preparing themselves for Christmas.

Lucy looked up the street, letting a small grin split her lips as she started to grow excited for the night she and Cana had planned last minute. She found herself starting to run to the hill where she told Natsu to meet her. She shivered when a harsh winter wind ripped away her warmth, but she didn't let it stop her.

Nearing the top of the hill, Lucy tried to slide to a stop, but she kept going. She let out a surprised squeal as she lost her footing and started tumbling down the hill. Her squeals turned into screams as she rolled.

She came to a dizzying stop by sitting up straight. She sat there, swaying side to side for a few minutes. She shook her head trying to gather her bearings. Stumbling to her feet, Lucy laughed. She probably looked ridiculous, rolling down the hill like she had.

She looked around for Natsu, had he seen that? She wanted to laugh with him about it. Lucy never spotted him, though. Her laughter faded and fell into a confused frown. Where was he? He had promised to meet her at the top of the hill, so why wasn't he there?

Lucy brushed the snow off of her dress and coat, shaking any excess snow out of her hair. She started a path to the woods, making her way to his cave. He hadn't changed his mind had he? Lucy had been excited about the plans she'd invited him to, she was going to let him back out!

She started stomping in the direction of his cave. Just who did he think he was? Ruining the plans... she hadn't really worked hard on making? She shouldn't have been mad, but she was. He was probably scared of going to the city. She was convinced it'd been ages since he'd set foot on those cobblestone streets.

"Natsu!" She grumbled. She was standing in front of his cave in no time at all, tapping her foot with her arms crossed over her chest in irritation. "Natsu, Happy! Get out here!"

Only the blue cat responded. He came bounding out of the cave, his eyes wide. He shook his head at her as he flew up to her face. He started pushing her away, not even saying anything when a familiar growl was heard from the inside of the cave.

"Lucy, go home! Natsu can't go with you tonight, he's-

Natsu stomped out of the cave, but he wasn't a man. He was a dragon. His green eyes zoned in on Lucy, causing the blonde to tense up. He narrowed his eyes at her and leaned down towards her. She yelped, but was shocked when his snout gently pushed her backwards. She stumbled back a few steps, blinking up at him in confusion.

"What? Why… Why are you still a dragon? I thought you turned into a man at night," Lucy muttered, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"The moon has to be out and shining brightly in order for him to shift, Lucy…" Happy mewed. He flicked his tail, casting his eyes up to Natsu.

"What is he, then? A mixture of dragon, man, and werewolf!?" Lucy spluttered.

Happy started shaking as he tried to drag her back further, but Natsu, peering down at her, snorted. The dragon's shoulders started shaking and there were soft sounds coming from the back of his throat that were very similar to laughter. It was cut short though, because Natsu started nudging her back into the woods, away from him and the cave.

"But, what about tonight? Weren't you excited to go?" Lucy asked, shocked that she was so upset by this. How had she not noticed how attached she'd become to him? She was making herself look desperate for a friend!

Natsu snorted again, shaking his head at her. He lifted one of his talons and pointed it in the direction of Magnolia. He lowered his head again, giving Lucy a soft nudge before backing into his cave.

Lucy pursed her lips into a tight frown. She sighed and looked up at the sky. There was no sign of a break in the clouds. She glowered at the snow that was falling, 'of all the nights to snow, it had to be tonight?' She complained in her thoughts. She kicked a pile of snow up into the air, puffing her cheeks in irritation.

"Okay, but I'll be back tomorrow night! Maybe the sky will be nice and clear then," She sighed. "Until then," She waved over her shoulder as she walked off.

She rubbed her hands together, trying to produce some warmth between them, but it was freezing cold. She realized how warm it had been over at Natsu's cave. The outside had been completely free of snow. She looked back in the direction of Natsu and Happy, wishing she could go back to that warmth.

Instead, she started thinking of what Happy had said. Natsu could only turn into a man when the moon was out and shining brightly? Did that mean he stayed as a dragon every time it rained and snowed? Every time there was no moon? Lucy bit her lip, she wondered if he preferred being human or being dragon. Part of her wondered if he was always like that, changing from a dragon to a man. Was there a time when he had been a regular dragon? Was there a time when he had been a regular man?

The snow crunched under her boots as she walked, deep in thought. Happy had said it as if there was some kind of magic involved. It sounded much like a fairy tale to her. A man who is dragon when the sun is out and man when the moon is out. She pursed her lips, what if he was under some kind of spell? Some kind of curse?

She shook her head, 'no,' she thought 'there is no such thing!'

She stretched as she stepped into the clearing she often stargazed in, walking through it she trudged up the hill and towards the bar. At least she wouldn't have to worry about making something up tell Cana and Gildarts. She also wouldn't have to be bothered by any teasing she was sure would have come her way. Lucy tried to feed herself the positive things about Natsu not being able to join she and her friends at the bar, but there weren't many.

She had really hoped this would have gotten them close to being friends.

* * *

"Hey, Lucy!" Cana cheered, raising her mug of beer as a greeting.

"Lucy! Long time no see!" Gildarts beamed.

Lucy smiled, "Hello," She waved in reply.

"I thought you said you'd be bringing a friend tonight? I was hoping maybe a love interest?" Cana leaned forward wiggling her eyebrows.

Lucy rolled her eyes as she took her seat beside Cana. It was noisy in the bar, a violinist and pianist were up on stage performing a cheery and quick tune that pulled people to grab a partner and dance. Lucy smiled as she watched, eyes roaming back to the counter where she, Cana, and Gildarts sat at.

A few stools down, the barmaid, Mirajane, was wiping the countertop and talking to a blond man with a scar on his right eye, Laxus. Lucy snorted and elbowed Cana, pointing in the direction of the two. "No, there's no love interest for me, but what about those two? How long have they been talking now?"

Cana snickered and slung her arm around Lucy's shoulders, "Good thing you don't have a love interest, I'm not letting anyone take my Lucy away." She cleared her throat and then look at Mira and Laxus, "Ah, yes, the lovebirds. They've been talking for about an hour straight now, good thing there's more than one barmaid, right?" Cana smirked.

Lucy nodded her head, letting a small giggle slip. It was well known that Mirajane and Laxus Dreyar were together. The two had never announced it, probably wanting to keep it quiet, but still everyone knew. It was quite obvious from the time they spent together.

"Oi, Mira! More beer!" Gildarts raised his cup from his seat beside Cana. He cackled when both Mira and Laxus flinched. Lucy would have laughed if it weren't for the glare that Laxus pinned to the three of them, instead a nervous wheeze left her lips.

"Let Kinana get it for you, I'm talking to Mira," Laxus growled in response.

Lucy shivered and hoped that Gildarts wouldn't press on, but Gildarts was showing no signs of stopping.

"And I'm a customer making an order," Gildarts smirked, "I'm sure you can be without your woman for less than five minutes. You two have been at it for an hour now, either let her work, or get a room!" He slammed his hand on the countertop as he started roaring with laughter again.

Lucy turned to Laxus, he looked like he was about to charge at Gildarts for breaking his time with Mira. He actually stood up, fists clench and teeth grit. He took one step forward, but then there was Mira, reaching out and placing her hand on his forearm.

"Laxus, he is merely teasing you, sit back down and calm yourself." She smiled, but there was a death wish that shined from the glare in her eyes. Laxus scoffed and sat back down, glaring at Gildarts from the corner of his eye.

When Mira walked through the door that led to the back of the bar, Laxus got up. He stormed over to Gildarts, slammed his fist down of the top of the man's head and stomped back to his seat. Cana was shaking, trying not to keel over with laughter while Lucy just gawked at Laxus and then at Gildarts. Laxus had knocked Gildarts out right away, he hadn't even hesitated! Though it wasn't that surprising, Lucy couldn't her jaw from falling slack.

Mira came back with mugs full of beer and set them down in front of Cana. The silver haired woman tipped her head to the side when she noticed Gildarts empty seat. "Oh? Where did Gildarts go?" She peered of the top of the counter, letting a smile spread on her lips, "Ah, did he have too much beer?" She asked, her smile still growing but it showed no sweetness whatsoever, she turned around to face Laxus, her aura turning to a terrifying anger. "I told you to calm down."

"Oh, boy," Cana chuckled into a mug of beer. "Mira, in all honesty, Gildarts had it coming to him, I was about to hit him myself."

Mira smile again, but this time it was a true smile, "Oh, I know!" She chirped, but didn't feel free to explain why she had glared at Laxus. The three stared at her in confusion, their baffled expressions going deeper with she giggled. "Lucy, would you like a drink?"

"Ah, no thanks, I'm just here to be with friends," She smiled, ignoring the snort that came from Laxus' direction.

"The bar is for drinking, blondie," Laxus chuckled and slid a mug full of alcohol towards her, "So drink up."

"No thanks, _blondie_ ," Lucy teased and pushed the drink away, "It's been forever since I've seen you all, life gets too busy!"

"Yeah, tell me about it," Cana muttered into her beer.

The rest of the evening was full of chatter and friends catching up. Gildarts eventually came to, sitting back up on his stool as if nothing had happened. Mira finally admitted that she and Laxus were in fact together, Lucy, Cana, and Gildarts all acted surprised even if they had guessed it long before the couple had admitted it. Laxus, once he was finished pouting over his and Mira's interrupted conversation, joined in with the chatty bunch.

Lucy was able to smile, forgetting that she was upset over the ruined plans of inviting Natsu along. She laughed when Gildarts started gushing over his beautiful daughter and how Cana shoved him off his seat in response. She didn't miss the affectionate gleam in the brunette's eyes though. No matter how annoyed Cana acted about her father, Lucy knew that she loved him very much.

Laxus moved down to sit in the seat next to Lucy, joking and prodding her about how she still didn't have a man in her life. "Though with your expectations for a man, I wouldn't be shocked! Only men that live a wealthy life could meet your dream standards, blondie."

"Well, then maybe I'll find a wealthy man. He'll come sweep me off my feet and we'll ride to the sunset together on his noble steed!" Lucy swooned, snickering when Laxus snorted.

"Yeah, and I'll be crowned king of Fiore," He said, lifting his drink to his lips. "Anyway, how's the bakery going for you? Word in town says that you've hired?"

"Oh, yes! Juvia is her name, she's very lovely. She moved into the apartment with Erza, Levy, and I. She's shy at first, but she's opened up a bit. I hope to get to know her better."

"Ah, Juvia, Gray's brought her up a few times. He says she's insane?" Laxus frowned, confused.

"Oh," Lucy threw her head back and laughed loudly, "Well, she's crazy for Gray. She claims it's love at first sight." She explained. "She talks in third person quite a bit, it's odd, but it seems normal coming from her."

"She's sounds like quite the woman," Cana drawled, "You need to introduce me!" She slung her arm around Lucy's shoulders, bringing her face just inches away from hers. "But don't worry, you'll still be my favorite," Cana winked and leaned back, laughing at her friend's reaction.

Lucy rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless, she was used to Cana's flirts. It was expected actually. Lucy would have been worried if Cana didn't openly flirt with her at least once whenever they talked.

When a yawn escaped from her lips, Lucy deemed that as her cue to head home.

"I'll walk you," Laxus stood up, pulling his arms through the sleeves of his coat.

"No, I'll be fine, it's not far, besides I can handle myself, but thank you, Laxus." She waved her hand, signing for him to sit back down. "I also need time to myself for a bit, if that's all right."

Before he could voice a complaint or make a move to argue, Lucy hurried outside. She sighed when she made it out in the brisk cold, the snow still falling. She really was in the need for some time with herself. She needed to think. She also needed to talk to the stars, but the clouds weren't going to let that happen. She grumbled in irritation as she shoved her hands in her pockets.

It was quiet as she walked back to the apartment. Eerily quiet. Everyone had gone home to go to sleep. The only people who were out were leaving the bar and headed home, or going to the bar, only a few were just strolling about.

Lucy exhaled a deep breath, watching the small puff thin out in the air. She always loved winter, it was her favorite season. The snow made everything look bright and beautiful. She loved having snowball fights and building snowmen as well. She smiled when a memory of her mother and father playing with her in the snow when she was little came to mind.

She looked down at her snow covered boots, turning around to look at the prints her feet had tracked in the snow. Her eyes traveled up the hill, smiling at how calmly the snow was still falling. It was peaceful.

Her bliss, however, didn't last. Her breath was cut short when a hand snatched her forearm. A gasp left her lips and she spun around, punching the stranger in the side of the head. She didn't bother to look back at them as she bolted down the street, feet pounding and crunching on the snow covered cobblestone road.

Her heart racing, breaths coming at an alarming speed, Lucy was terrified. She regretted turning down Laxus' offer of walking her home. That had been very foolish of her.

She risked a look over her shoulder, swallowing thickly when there was sign of anyone chasing. Just who had grabbed her and why had they grabbed her? On second thought, Lucy shook her head, she didn't want to know. There were some horrible and disgusting people out there, and she had just been unfortunate enough to somewhat encounter one of them.

As she slowed to quick walk, part of her wondered if it had been Natsu, but she knew it definitely hadn't been him. He was back at his cave, as a dragon. 'Besides,' Lucy thought, 'Natsu would never grab me like that.' She rubbed her hands over her arms, trying to warm herself through her coat. It was getting colder and colder, she shivered, teeth chattering together.

Feeling as though someone was still following her, Lucy stiffened. She looked over her shoulder again and nearly toppled down into the snow from fright. Someone was standing at the end of the street, looking in her direction! Instead of turning onto Strawberry Street, Lucy kept on Main. She couldn't lead whoever was following her to her home! She would have to hide away in her bakery until whoever was pursuing her went away.

She shuddered, she really should have let Laxus walk her home. Why had she turned him down? It wasn't that she was weak or anything like that. Lucy was capable of protecting herself, it was just the comfort of having someone with her to feel safer.

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the bakery up ahead. She sighed in relief, pushing herself to run faster, cautious not to slip and fall in the snow. She hopped up the steps of the bakery, digging around the pocket of her dress for the key that would unlock the door. When she grabbed said key, she shoved it in the doorknob and quickly unlocked the door. She looked up the street to see any sign of her chaser, but nobody was there.

She stepped inside and slammed the door behind her, pressing her back against it to keep it shut. Something about whoever had grabbed had somehow felt familiar. Just the thought of the hands that had grabbed her made her shudder. Who had it been? Her curiosity was painful but she wasn't about to let it win. She'd learned her lesson that curiosity could easily kill the cat, and in this case, satisfaction would not bring it back.

Had anyone really been following her though? Magnolia did have many homeless people living in the alley ways, maybe it had just been a beggar. Lucy frowned as her heart sunk, she felt guilty. What if that had been the case? She had run away, terrified out of her mind, simply because of her mind and the way it jumped to worst case scenarios.

She was about to stand up, turn around, and head home, but hearing slow footsteps crunching in the snow made her halt. Her heart sped up and she held her breath. As slow and as quiet as she could, Lucy turned around to peer out the window beside the door. She could see the shadow of a tall and broad shouldered figure walking towards her bakery door.

She squeaked when a man came into view, but upon recognizing him, Lucy groaned. "Laxus Dreyar! I'll murder you, bake you into a pie, and then serve it to Mirajane herself! You terrified me!" Lucy slammed to door open to glare at the blond man. She was level with him at the top of the stairs and she took advantage of this to bring her fist down on the crown of his head.

Laxus hissed and leaned back, rubbing his head with a frown on his face. "Oi, I was making sure you made it home safe. It was a good thing I did, I saw a man following you."

Lucy blinked, so someone had been following her! She stared at Laxus, her mouth shaped in a small 'o'. She felt weak in the knees, why was someone following her? Were they planning to rob her… or worse? She shook her head free of the terrifying thoughts that were surfacing in her worst case scenarios.

"Do you know what he looked like?" Lucy whispered, maybe it was someone she knew, but who would hate her enough to scare her like that?

"Mmm, no, all I could make of his appearance was his insane hair. If it weren't for the color, I would have been convinced it was Gajeel. The man's color was blue, like Levy's, but much brighter."

Lucy was about to ask for more details, but a thud coming from the far corner in the dining area of the bakery interrupted her. She looked over her shoulder to see, but it was too dark. All the curtains were drawn and it was pitch black. She took a shy step forward, a frightened feeling creeping it's way into her heart.

She ignored Laxus' frantic questions as she sneaked towards the sound that had caught her attention. As she crept closer, her heart beat quicker. Something was not right, why was she even investigating? Shouldn't she be going home? Erza, Levy, and Juvia would be worried sick!

The thoughts came and left as fast as her heart beats. Lucy could see movement in the corner now, someone was squatted down, she could feel their eyes piercing through her. Lucy shuddered and took a step back, about to run back towards Laxus so he could take her place in greeting the burglar in her bakery, but as soon as she stumbled back, the mysterious visitor was standing before her.

He narrowed his eyes at her, baring his sharp teeth in anger. His black eyes matched the darkness of the room, his hair a shocking blue. He towered over her, much like Laxus, but this man's height was more intimidating than Laxus.

"Lucy Heartfilia, at last," The man's voice muttered. His tone was full of resentment and malice. Faster than the blink of an eye, his hand snatched her forearm. Lucy heard a blood curdling scream echo through the room, realizing only later that it had been her own. This man's grip was much like the one she'd felt before bolting off to hide in her bakery.

In her fear, Lucy collapsed, but before her eyes fell shut, she noticed her surroundings change in a blur.

* * *

 **How's that for a cliffhanger ;D**

 **also, have any idea of who the mysterious stranger is?**

 **Heeeey! So it's been forever since I last updated! Don't worry, it wasn't writer's block. It was just lack of motivation. I knew what to write and how to write it, I just couldn't bring myself to write! I finally finished this chapter though! It took me a bit lol**

 **So yeah another reason as to why I wasn't really able to update, is bc I had church camp and recently I've been helping at my church to set up for VBS (vacation bible school) it's been lots of fun x) my friends and I got into a paint fight :P**

 _ **books books and books**_

 _ **SOOO I AM STILL READING All The Light We Cannot See. and uuuggghhh I really like the book but it's taking me forever. NOT TO MENTION I LOST THE PAPERS WITH THE ASSIGNMENT WRITTEN ON IT SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW AND I AM PANICKING. Oh well I'll just finish the book and email the teacher I guess idek.**_

 **but yeah, I can't really tell you guys how well updates are going to be from here. I really just update whenever I want, bc that's how I write. I write when I feel like it, which is like everyday, but I edit a lot. I'll write something and then later on I have to scrap it bc it doesn't go well with the story it doesn't flow. Just know that even if updates are slow, I do not ever plan on giving up on this okay.**

 **Until next times~ and please leave a review :3**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven.**

* * *

Laxus was in a state of shock. What had just happened? He stared at the corner where Lucy and the man had been mere seconds ago. They had vanished, the two had just evaporated. He clenched his fists, and he'd let it happen! How- why had he let Lucy investigate? He should have shoved her aside and gone over to look instead.

Why hadn't he done anything!? Laxus shouted and then banged his fist on the table beside him. Useless, useless, so very useless! He should have known something wasn't right! He should have followed the twisting feeling in his gut and taken action. But he hadn't. He hadn't acted and that had caused Lucy's kidnapping.

Laxus let his arm fall to his side and huffed. He grit his teeth together and stormed out of the bakery, slamming the door behind him harshly. He started marching towards the apartment that Lucy shared with her three friends, running when he was halfway there.

"Erza!" Laxus roared as he pounded on the front door. "Levy! Open up, now!" He shouted, not ceasing the fist that was possibly going to punch the door in.

"What is it, Laxus!? Be quiet, people are sleeping at this hour!" Erza growled when she opened the door, "Why are you here?"

"It's Lucy, a man has captured Lucy," Laxus stated as calmly as he could. He was furious with himself. So angry that he couldn't stand still, he was shaking.

"Wh-what?" Levy gasped from the top of the stairs. It was obvious the petite woman had just woken up from sleep, her pajamas were wrinkled and hair in a bedhead mess. "Lu's been kidnapped?" Levy put her hands to her mouth and tripped down the stairs. She scrambled over to Laxus, and yanked at his arm as she pulled him into the apartment.

"Laxus, calm down and sit on the couch. Levy go wake up Juvia and tell her to come downstairs, she'll want to know about this as well. Laxus, I want you to explain everything, what happened." Erza commanded, guiding the tall blond man to the couch.

* * *

When Lucy opened her eyes, she knew something was wrong right away. She didn't remember falling asleep, she remembered standing in her bakery with Laxus at her door and then- Lucy sat up at a lightspeed, looking around with wide eyes.

Where was she?

She was in a cave. Her heart lurched in her chest and she shook her head. This had to be that nightmare again, this couldn't be real. She stood up, wobbling on her legs. How long had she been out? She was deep in the cave, no sign of any outside light.

She heard footsteps coming towards her. Thinking quickly, she dropped back to the ground. She closed her eyes, tried to steady her breathing. She'd pretend to still be unconscious until whoever had captured her left.

Then she'd run for it.

Come to think of it, what did they want with her? Had she done something wrong? Were they just capturing her for ransom? Why was she in this cave, who was the person who'd taken her?

She was shaking as these questions rose to her mind. The footsteps were closer by now, she could decipher the steps to be from two different people. She lay as still as her body would let her, but she was worried they'd see through her act, know that she was awake.

The footsteps came to a stop a little ways away from her. One of them spoke, their voice low and smooth. "She's still out! I told you he used too strong of a spell on her! What'll we do if she doesn't wake up in time to get moving? I am not carrying her again!" The voice complained, making Lucy want to scowl.

"Oh, shut up will you? We'll just move out once she has woken up, so what if Acnologia did use too much magic on her? She's bound to wake at some point," The second person spoke, their voice of a higher pitch soft and misleadingly sweet. "We need to report to Kyouka, let's go."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Lucy listened as their footsteps faded. Who was Acnologia? Who was Kyouka? Who were the two that had come to see if she'd woken up yet? So many questions! Lucy bit her lip, peeping open an eye to make sure the coast was clear.

There was no sign of anyone around her. Slowly, she sat up, rubbing her aching shoulder. Sleeping on the floor of a cave was not comfortable. She wondered how Natsu could do it so easily every night.

It was dark. No sources of light to be seen anywhere. She could only see since her eyes had adjusted to the dark. What she could see was very familiar to the cave that had been in her nightmares.

She blinked as she remembered her nightmares. Could those have been linked with this? Could Acnologia, whoever that was, used some sort of spell to get into her subconscious and scare her? To get her over paranoid? To play with her?

She shuddered, what sort of trouble was she in for? Lucy stood up, her legs shaking. It was freezing in the cave. Her teeth chattered and she took a small step forward. She needed to get out of this cave and find her way home. Her friends were bound to be worried sick about her! Even she was worried for herself.

What if she never made it out?

 _'No, Lucy, keep it positive, you_ will _get out and you_ will _make it home.'_ Lucy scolded herself. She sucked in a cold breath of air, rubbing her arms to try and warm herself. Even with her warm clothing, Lucy was freezing. She could feel the freezing winter air from outside.

Her eyes widened. If she could feel the frigid winter air, then that means the mouth of the cave had to be close by! She hoped she could find her bearings once she was outside. If she was completely lost outside she wasn't sure what she was going to do.

She started walking again, making sure to follow the cold air and to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible. If she had been able to hear the people who'd help capture her, then there was no doubt they'd be able to hear any loud noises as well. She also assumed they'd be on careful watch, listening for any sign of her waking up.

She kept walking, the darkness of the cave not lifting at all. Why had she so foolishly walked into her bakery to investigate the intruder? She could have easily sent Laxus to do that! Though, if whoever had captured her had used some sort of magic, they could have easily teleported themselves behind Laxus, grab her and then make a dash for it. Either way, Lucy was only to blame. She should have been ready to fight! Why hadn't she Lucy-Kicked the person who had grabbed her?

She cringed, what would Erza say? She knew the scarlet haired woman would definitely scold her for not protecting herself. After giving her a huge hug, of course. No matter how harsh Erza came across, the woman definitely loved and cared for her friends. Lucy just hoped Erza wouldn't ban her from going to stargaze. Though that was most definitely going to happen.

What would Laxus do? Lucy hoped he wasn't blaming himself for her being kidnapped. It wasn't his fault at all, her curiosity was to blame! She should have let Laxus walk her home, this would have never happened if he had walked her home.

Lucy clenched her fists, she felt weak. She knew she was far from weak, she could defend herself with a sword and her bare hands, but she still felt small for not defending herself when she should have.

She was so busy in her thoughts, Lucy wasn't aware of the person walking in her direction. Though, she did feel eyes watching her. Snapping her head up, Lucy was able to take in a blob of yellow before she was sent crashing to the ground.

Her elbow cracked against the rock flooring of the cave, causing her to gasp. She felt something warm trickle down her arm and she knew she was bleeding.

"Seems our little treasure escaped!" One of the voices from before cooed. Lucy sneered at the man as he peered down at her. His blonde hair was shaggy, bangs swooped to the left side of his face. He was dressed in ridiculous attire for winter. He wore a skin tight vest, scarf, and baggy pants. What confused Lucy the most though, was the ears and tail the man had. His tail, was just as real as the rest of him, it flicked back and forth mockingly as he grinned down at her.

He made a move to swipe his sharp nails at her, but Lucy rolled out of the way. She brought her legs and feet up, kicking him in the chin as she pushed herself back up. Her left hand snatched her right elbow, the fabric of her coat and dress were both torn. The sleeve was wet from her blood and her elbow was sore from the cut.

The two glared at each other. Lucy holding her arm, the man rubbing his chin. He growled at her, much like an animal would and charged. Lucy dodged too late. His sharp nails tore through her coat, digging into her skin and causing her to bleed. Lucy reeled back her unwounded arm, driving a harsh blow to the side of his face. Her eyes widened when she realized her punch was hard enough to send him staggering away.

She backed away, then turned around and ran for it. She turned a sharp corner, clutching her arm tighter when the air turned even colder. How close was she to finding the exit to this cave?

"Hey! Get back here! Kyouka will kill me if she knows I let you escape!" The man roared from behind her. She could hear his pounding footsteps. Fear plunged through her heart, driving her to run faster.

Lucy took another sharp turn, narrowing her eyes when a blast of cold wind smacked her in the face. Up ahead, she could see the dim glow of natural light creeping along the walls of the cave. Hope squirmed its way into her heart. She started running faster, desperate to get out into the open.

She could feel the man behind her at her heels. Quickly thinking, Lucy whirled around, jumping up into the air and swung her leg around to kick him in the side of the head. Her kick sent him soaring into the cave wall. He cracked his head against the rock and crumpled to floor.

She turned around again, pushing herself to keep running. She wasn't going to feel safe until she was out of this cave and very far away from it. She could see where the light was coming from now, the exit of the cave was a hole in the ground. The slope looked difficult to climb, but as Lucy neared it, she noticed it wasn't all that steep. Without a second thought, she trudged up, climbing out of the gaping hole in the ground.

It was night time still. The moon was glowing brightly against the starry night sky. It glimmered against the soft snow. When Lucy stumbled to her feet she noticed a lot more snow had fallen, because it reached up to her ankles.

Hadn't it been cloudy? Lucy rose an eyebrow, there wasn't a cloud in sight! She began to wonder just how long she had been in that cave. She looked all around her, but she couldn't recognize any of the woods surrounding her.

The trees loomed over her, intimidating her with their bowing branches. The mouth of the cave mocked her with it's frightening darkness that looked as if it never ended. She had no idea where she was. She shivered from the cold, blowing hot breath into her hands as she rubbed them together, Lucy started walking. She hadn't a clue of where she was going though.

She hoped she would spot something familiar and be able to find her way home. The blood staining her jacket was scaring her, what if she lost too much blood? What if those people found her because of the trail of blood she left behind? Thinking quickly, Lucy rolled up sleeve, letting it rest of her bleeding wounds. She held her arm to give it some sort of support, but she couldn't stop the pain that was starting to burn her arm.

Shaking her head, Lucy reminded herself that she needed to find her way home quickly. Her eyes rose to the sky for any kind of guidance, but she still felt completely and utterly lost.

The stars twinkled at her, the quarter moon illuminating the darkness of the night. With the light of the moon as her guide, Lucy trudged on. She had no idea where she was headed, but she knew one thing. She had to get away from that cave and the people that were after her.

That rose the question as to why they had captured her. What had she done? The man she had fought; his clothing looked expensive. He had to be wealthy or well known in some fashion. He also had an accent, the accent of the people who were rich enough to own a mansion near the royal castle of Fiore.

Could he be working for the king? Lucy's eyes widened, what could have been so terrible as to grab the king's attention? She only worked a bakery on Main Street, what on earth could she have done?

Up ahead, Lucy heard the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow. She slowed to a stop, paying close attention this time. She wasn't going to be caught off guard again! She looked around her, trying to see if she could spot a place to hide. Her arm was throbbing now, and she didn't want to worsen the cuts by more fighting.

She could see a figure through the mess of snow covered branches. The person's hair stuck up in all directions, their scarf flapping in the frigid wind, beside them a cat flew in the air. Lucy's heart soared with relief, "Natsu?" She whispered out.

"Lucy!" Natsu called out and ran in her direction. He came crashing through the bare tree branches, his green eyes wide and alert. Happy flew towards her, hugging her neck and rubbing his cheek against hers. "What happened!? You friends were looking for you today in the woods, they had to stop their search at night since it was too dark, so I started looking instead. Wait, you're bleeding. Who did this." His tone went from worried to angry in a matter of seconds.

Lucy cast an anxious look behind her to make sure nobody was following her. She had no idea how to explain what had happened to her, because she really didn't know what exactly had happened. She shook her head, taking a nervous step towards Natsu, "I'm cold," She whimpered.

Natsu didn't even hesitate wrap his arms around her. His arm snuck around her shoulders and beneath her legs as he scooped her up in his arms. He grunted as he started walking. Lucy was still quivering, but it was more from fear than cold. Natsu was warm and just him carrying her warmed her up. Lucy felt safe as well.

She didn't understand how she could be so trusting from only knowing Natsu for maybe a week. She wasn't even sure if he considered her as a friend, but she knew she considered him as her friend. She curled closer to him, wishing she could be out of the cold and inside where it was nice and toasty.

She watched the sky through the gaps of the branches. Natsu didn't look down at her, to question her dazed staring, he kept walking straight eyes cast on nothing. His jaw was clenched shut, he looked furious.

He shifted his arms underneath her, hoisting her up higher so as not to drop her. Lucy gritted her teeth when her arm dragged against his chest. She cupped it in her hand, bringing her fingertips close to her face to see if it was still bleeding. It was, but not as badly.

"Who hurt you, Lucy?" Natsu asked. He sounded furious, too. He was getting warmer by the second. Lucy was worried he was going to start burning her, but he soon gained control over his heat. She could feel him clench his fists.

"I don't know his name, but he was very odd. He looked like a cross between a man and some cat. He had cat-like ears and a tail." Lucy looked at nothing as she told Natsu about the odd appearance of the man before. "He also mentioned some names. Acnologia and Kyouka."

Natsu flinched when Lucy said Acnologia. Lucy looked up at him, raising a brow in curiosity. Did Natsu somehow know Acnologia? Was there some connection?

She opened her mouth to ask questions, but Happy cut her off as he climbed down into her lap. "Are you okay, Lucy? We were really worried about you!" He tipped his head, his eyes shining with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just hurt my arm is all. He pushed me down, that strange man, and my elbow smacked up against a rock, and then when I fought back he scratched me. I'm lucky I had some of the fabric in the way, or I probably could have broken a bone with the fall and his attack could have been much worse…" Lucy mumbled. She peered down at her injured arm, cringing when she saw how bloody it looked. Then she realized something, "You guys were worried?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Of course we were worried, Lucy! You're our friend!" Happy snapped, poking her with the tip of his tail.

"I'm your friend?" Lucy wondered aloud as she gaped at the blue cat sitting on her stomach.

"Lucy, you really are weird if you're shocked that we see you as our friend." Natsu snorted. He looked down at her, giving her a lopsided grin. "You're our friend and we're your friends, right?"

"Yeah…" Lucy muttered under breath, trying to stop her cheeks from turning red. She had embarrassed herself. A frown settled on her lips though. She was worried about the people who had captured her. Were they going to try and take her again?

Lucy's eyes widened when she realized she could have easily been killed back in that cave.

"Lucy, you look scared… Are you okay?" Happy mewed, leaning forward to look her in the eye.

Lucy's shoulders started to shake. Her mind started rolling through all the scenarios she could have gone through back in that cave. She could have been killed, tortured… so many terrifying things rushed through her mind. She curled towards Natsu, shaking her head, answering Happy's question with a silent 'no'.

The blue cat looked up at Natsu in alarm, worried they had done something wrong. Natsu's jaw clenched and he his shook his head. He knew Lucy was scared. He had been scared for her as well. He saw her as his friend, the only one who had come back after discovering what he truly was.

Feeling something wet slide down his arm, Natsu stiffened, looking down at her with a firm gaze. "Lucy, don't cry, you're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you."

She nodded her head, rubbing her tears away. "I was scared, I didn't know where I was, and I had to fight to get out." She added, throwing a wide eyed look to Natsu.

Natsu smirked, "I bet you kicked their asses, huh?"

Lucy felt a laugh bubble in her chest. She let a small smile grace her lips as the soft laugh escape her. She felt Natsu's shake with laughter, Happy was purring in amusement, and Lucy found her laughter growing louder. "You should have seen his face when I punched him! I don't think he expected me to be able to fight. Oh, and then when I whirled around to kick him in the head, he was so startled!" Lucy tried to copy the expression she remembered seeing fall on the man's face before she had knocked him out cold.

Natsu snorted, throwing his head back and cackling loudly. Lucy waved her arms around, trying to quiet his noisy laughs. She didn't know how far away they were from that cave, but she didn't want to take any chances of the people inside hearing them. She didn't want to have to fight again. She was tired and very cold.

Lucy looked up at Natsu, sending him a smile when brown eyes locked with green. Natsu gave her a lopsided smirk in return, feeling proud of himself for distracting her and cheering her up.

The walk back to Natsu and Happy's cave was quiet. Lucy had fallen asleep, the exhaustion of her fear and tears had caught up with her. Happy flew beside Natsu, whispering to him quietly, "Natsu… she said Acnologia… and Kyouka. What are we going to do?"

Natsu frowned, his green eyes hardening in anger. His grip on Lucy tightened, but he quickly loosened it when she groaned in her sleep. "I don't know, Happy, but for now, we need to make sure Lucy stays safe. For whatever reason, they want her."

"Natsu… they could be using her as bait to get you. They could somehow know that we're friends with her," Happy whimpered, his tail lowering to tuck between his legs. "What if they capture you?"

"If they capture me, then they capture me. I'm not going to let anyone hurt my friends. Just like I'd rush to go save Lucy, I'd rush to go save you, Happy. You guys are my friends. I'd rather die than allow some bastard to harm you guys." Natsu growled, his eyes beginning to glow.

Happy's ears flattened. Natsu always put his friends before himself. Happy was worried that one day it really would get Natsu killed. The blue cat didn't know what he'd do if he lost his friend.

Natsu shifted Lucy in his hold, hoisting her up with one arm, with the other he raised it to pat Happy on the head. He turned to flash the tomcat a big smile, "It's not like anyone'll be able to kill me though, right?"

"Yeah! You're the strongest man out there!" Happy cheered, flying around in circles above Natsu's head.

* * *

Lucy woke up, feeling warm and full of energy. She sat up, rubbing the grit from her eyes as a yawn split her mouth wide open. The blanket covering her shoulder slid to the ground. She looked around her room, but again was confused when she saw that she was in a cave.

Fear clutched her chest, knocking any air out of her lungs. She was about to scramble to her feet and look for an exit, but she quickly recognized where she was.

This was Natsu and Happy's cave. She was safe here. Nobody could hurt her here.

She exhaled a sigh of relief from her nose, letting her shoulders relax. She looked at the blanket that covered her, startled when she recognized it to be Natsu's vest. Lucy also noticed that her coat was missing, and that her right arm was wrapped in bandages.

"Natsu? Happy?" Lucy called out, when she didn't see either of them in the cave. It was just her and a lonely fire. She could see the old pack in the back of the cave with the sleeping bag beneath it, but there was no sign of the owners. She looked out the opening of the cave, pursing her lips when it was still dark out.

"We're out here, Luce!" Natsu poked his head around the rock wall, "You feeling okay? How's your arm?"

Lucy nodded her head, rubbing the bandage wrap on her upper arm. She wondered where they got the supplies to dress her wound, but remembering the old pack on the other side of the cave she put aside. That was probably where all their supplies were stuffed. "My arm is fine, a little sore, but that's to be expected I guess." She shrugged, pulling his vest tighter around her shoulder. "Where's my coat?"

"Oh, uh, well, it's kinda ruined from the blood…" Natsu laughed, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked towards her. He sat down across from her, staring at her with an intimidating gaze.

Lucy stiffened. He looked tense, worried even. Lucy shifted on her legs. Could he be worried about her? Worried about why she had been taken or what those people had planned to do with her? Lucy looked down at her lap, the fabric of her dress seeming very interesting all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry," Natsu grunted all of a sudden.

Lucy shot her head up, raising an eyebrow at him. Why was he apologizing? He hadn't done anything wrong!

"I wasn't able to save you…" Natsu clenched his fists.

Lucy crawled over to Natsu, placing her hand on his. She locked eyes with him, glaring at him with bold eyes. "Natsu, don't you dare blame yourself for this. None of it is your fault. And actually, you did save me. If you hadn't been there to carry me back here, I would have frozen to death. I had no idea where I was or where I was going. So thank you for searching for me and bringing me back here," She smiled squeezing his hand gently before bringing it back to her lap. Shock at how she missed the warmth of his hand in her own.

Natsu smirked and lifted his hand to give her a thumbs up. "Sure thing, Luce! If you ever need me, then I'll be sure to be there for you!" He closed his eyes, tipping his head to the side. Lucy watched as his hair bounced around with him.

Lucy looked outside the entrance of the cave again, blinking in shock when the sky was turning to a dim gray. She cast a nervous glance to Natsu, the sun was going to be up soon. What was he going to do? She bit her lip, she remembered when she'd seen him turn into a man when the moon came up, but she'd never seen him turn into a dragon. Recalling how it had been painful for him to turn into a man, Lucy worried how painful it was for him to return to his dragon form.

Lucy looked at Natsu, wondering how it was possible for him to change forms from dragon to human. She tipped her head the side, a thoughtful expression falling on her face. There had to be some form of magic involved.

"Why are you staring at me like that, weirdo?" Natsu wrinkled his nose, leaning away from Lucy. He didn't like the curious gleam in her eyes, nor the worried, but thoughtful frown on her face.

"Does it hurt?" Lucy asked softly, looking him up and down. "When you-

"Yeah," Natsu interrupted her, he crossed his arms over his chest, turning his head towards the entrance of the cave. The sky was getting brighter. His facial expression turned to one of dread. "It's less painful if I go to the spot where the sunlight or moonlight first lands, still hurts like hell, though," He laughed cruelly.

He pushed himself up onto his feet, pulling his scarf away from his neck. He dropped it down into Lucy's hands, not even glancing at her as he walked outside. She watched until he was standing in the middle of the small clear opening before his cave.

She could feel his anxiety from where she sat. She averted her eyes when Happy swooped down to help Natsu with the rest of his clothes. The blue cat flew in to take Natsu's scarf away from her, but she hesitated in handing it to him.

She cringed when she saw the glow of a bright light, knowing exactly what was going to happen. She'd see it once before. Hearing the cat in front of her whimper, she pulled him into a comforting embrace. Curling tighter around him when she heard Natsu cry out.

Was it really that painful? She peeked an eye open, risking a look to see what was happening. Her jaw fell and her eyes widened when she saw Natsu grow in size. Wings sprouted from his back, a tail started to grow, horns formed on the top of his head, his skin was no longer smooth and tan, instead, red, orange, yellow, and pink scales began to cover his body.

Lucy snapped her eyes shut when a low groan came from the back of Natsu's throat. It was one of agony and exhaustion. Lucy's lower lip trembled, oh how she wished there was way she make it painless.

She could see the light fade even with her eyes shut tight. Lucy blinked them open, freezing in place when she came face to muzzle with Natsu. He slowly blinked his big green eyes at her, lowering them to look at Happy and his scarf. Slightly shaking, Lucy gave a gentle shove to the blue cat, pushing him out of her lap.

He looked at her with sad eyes, before spreading his own white wings to fly up to sit on the top of Natsu's head, the scarf flapping behind him. "Sorry Lucy, but you're going to need to leave…" Happy's ear flicked uncomfortably, "We'll see you tonight, right Natsu?"

Natsu, the dragon, nodded his head once. Crawling further into the cave, his tail slithered across the ground, nearly smacking into Lucy and knocking her over. He lowered himself onto the ground, resting his chin over his front legs. When he saw Lucy, he narrowed his eyes at her, emitting a low sound of complaint from his mouth.

"Lucy, you need to go home," Happy translated, "Your friends are very worried about you, don't let them come near our cave, please. They might discover us, and nothing good could come from that." The blue cat murmurred.

Lucy rose to her feet, keep her eyes on the dragon and the cat. She took a reluctant step towards Natsu, placing her hand on his snout. "I'm sorry it causes you so much pain, Natsu," She whispered, eyes shining with small tears. Natsu's harsh gaze softened, his eyes widening just the tiniest bit. Sighing, Lucy turned around to leave. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled, "I'll see you guys tonight."

Her feet padded softly in the wet grass around their cave, Natsu's warmth had obviously melted the snow around the area. She wondered how anyone could miss something so strange in the middle of winter, but she shrugged it off. Barely anyone went into the woods, all because of the rumors of the monster lurking there.

Casting a glance behind her, Lucy now knew it was true. Someone must have discovered the sleeping dragon in the middle of day and ran off in terror. Why they didn't share it with anyone else, Lucy didn't understand, their story must have been brushed off as a tall tale. A foolish way to gain attention.

Lucy knew she wouldn't have believed it. Though now that she knew the truth, Lucy had a heavy secret placed on her shoulders. If anyone knew of the truth about Natsu, they'd want to chase him away or worse… kill him. She clenched her fists, body tensing in determination. Just like Natsu wasn't going to allow any to hurt her, Lucy was going to try and keep any harm away from Natsu.

She had to protect her friend.

* * *

Seeing her apartment up ahead, Lucy breathed in relief. She never knew she would be so happy to the see the worn down building. The chipped paint and old roof that was in need of repairs soon. She stumbled up the steps, shakily grabbing hold of the doorknob. She was about to swing it open, when the door was ripped away from her.

Someone came walking out, unaware of her presence and bumped into her. She nearly fell down the porch steps, but whoever had rammed into her grabbed her wrist.

"Lucy, oh my God, Lucy!" Levy shrieked, she yanked Lucy close to her chest, crushing her in a hug. "You're safe, you're okay. Oh, I was so worried!" Levy cried, her shoulders shaking as Lucy slowly wrapped her arms around her friend.

Lucy closed her eyes, tightening her embrace around her friend. "I was terrified," She whispered into Levy's hair. Her voice trembled as memories of waking up in an unknown place started to rise. The familiar feeling of that man discovering her trying to escape crept up her spine, causing her to flinch.

Levy leaned back, looking at her friend with wide and worried eyes. "Lu… Oh, goodness, you're hurt! Your arm, are you alright?" Levy gasped, gingerly holding Lucy's arm in her hands. The bandage was stained with small splotches of blood, but the bleeding had stopped. "Lucy… what happened?" Levy inquired, her brown eyes shining with relieved tears.

Lucy took a deep, shaky breath. She wanted to rest, she wanted to go upstairs, lie down in her bed and go to sleep. She knew Levy deserved to know what happened, though.

"Oh, here, let's get inside, it's freezing and you're as white as the snow!" Levy rambled, helping Lucy inside. "Erza! Juvia! Lucy is back, she's safe!" Levy yelled into the apartment.

Lucy heard two loud crashing thuds from upstairs before Erza and Juvia came bounding down, skipping a few steps here and there. Juvia cried out Lucy's name, mumbling and stuttering bout worried she had been before tackling the blonde in a death grip hug. Erza didn't even get any words out before crushing Lucy in a hug, Lucy's eyes widened when she felt warm tears thread down her neck.

Had she really worried and scared everyone that much?

"You're okay," Juvia whispered. "You gave us all quite a scare, Lucy. I was so worried."

"Don't ever disappear like that again, do you understand?" Erza let go enough so Lucy could breathe again, but still held onto her like she was going to vanish at any given moment. "Now, what happened? Why were you captured, how did you get away, and," Erza's eyes glowed fiercely when she saw the bandages on Lucy's arm, "Who hurt you?"

Lucy shivered at her the intimidating woman's tone, but started explaining. She told them how she had foolishly turned down Laxus' offer to walk her home and went from there. When she told the part where she had woken up in the cave, her voice cracked and her friends all gave her sympathetic looks. Levy reaching over and wrapping her arms around Lucy to comfort her.

Lucy left out any parts concerning Natsu and Happy. She wasn't ready to tell her friends about those two yet, nor did she think they'd believe her. A man turning into a dragon accompanied by a flying and talking cat, wasn't exactly the most convincing thing.

Though she did feel proud when she came to the part of beating up that strange man. Erza had clapped her hands together, her eyes shining. Levy put a hand to her lips, but giggled when Lucy went on about how ridiculous his expression had been. Juvia clenched her fists, smiling boldly and cheering Lucy on for defending herself so well.

When Lucy had finished explaining her terrifying experience, she told them about the names she'd heard. None of the girls reacted it to the name like Natsu had, though.

"I need to get to work, but I'll be sure to tell Gajeel that you are fine, Lucy." Erza stood up, walking towards the coat rack to take down her wintercoat. "Juvia, I want you to go to the orphanage over on Ross Lane. Ask for Makarov and Laxus, I want you to tell them that Lucy is safe."

"Juvia will rush over there now! Maybe on her way back she can find Gray and tell him of Lucy coming back as well?" She offered genuinely. She had no spark in her eye that showed she was going to see Gray just to see her love, Erza nodded her head when she recognized that. "Lucy, you must get rest! We will need to get back to the bakery tomorrow!" Juvia said over her shoulder as she rushed out the door, stumbling in her jacket.

It was just Lucy and Levy left in the quiet apartment. Juvia gone to notify Makarov, Laxus, and also Gray. Erza off to work and to let Gajeel know as well. Lucy was glad she had friends that cared about her, it warmed her heart.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Lucy," Levy sighed, hand rested over her chest. She smiled weakly at her blonde friend as she stood up, "Lucy, you need to rest, I'm sure you're exhausted from everything that's happened. First, though, you should take a nice warm bath. It's my day off today, I'll be staying home so let me know if you need anything, okay?"

The idea of a hot bath made Lucy sigh. She nodded her head, allowing Levy to guide her upstairs and into the bathroom. While the water was running, Lucy allowed her mind to wander.

Natsu had acted very odd when she'd mentioned the names Acnologia and Kyouka. The names had to mean something. Could they have been people Natsu knew? Family, maybe friends? She wrinkled her nose at that thought, he wouldn't have reacted like that in such a startled way… would he? Lucy knew what it was like to have struggles with family members.

Sadly, she knew it all too well. Her mother had died when she was young, leaving her father to take care of her. Lucy had turned to him, not knowing what to do without her mother. Her father, at the time, had simply turned her away, shunning her.

For a majority of her childhood, Lucy remembered locking herself in her room, playing with her dolls by herself or reading her books. Images of him yelling at her appeared, causing her to cringe as she stepped out of her dirty clothes.

Her childhood have been difficult, by the time Lucy had turned ten, she had attempted to run away. She could clearly recall packing her bag, packing clothes, food, and other necessary items. She hadn't even made it to town, however, for her father had come running after her, calling out to her with tears streaming down his face. Her father had scooped her up in his big arms, holding her close to his chest as he sobbed apology after apology.

With a trembling lip, Lucy sighed. She was relieved that her father had chased after her when she had tried to run away. That day was a sad, but beautiful memory, holding a special place in her heart. It had saved her and her father's relationship. She was able to write to him regularly, easily talk to him, and go to sleep knowing that he loved and cared about her.

Lucy didn't know how she would have made it without her father's loving care.

Lowering herself into the hot bath, she wondered what Natsu's family was like. Surely they had to know of his condition. Maybe his parents were also shapeshifting dragon-humans! Part of her wondered if there was some sort of magical species that existed like that. Dragons by day, humans by night.

She snorted to herself, shaking her head, there was no way that could be it. There had to be some magic involved. Natsu wasn't a werewolf, Happy had scolded her for making that joke, saying Natsu didn't like it too much. She still felt guilty about it even if it had been a few days since then. She hadn't known, she had only been teasing.

So, Lucy wondered, just what was it that made him change form? Was he cursed? There had to be some sort of spell cast on him to give him the ability to change into a dragon and back into a man. Which raised the question, was he originally human or originally dragon?

It was all so frustrating! Lucy wanted to know the truth, but she didn't want to pry or come across as nosy. Though it was plainly obvious that she loved knowing and learning things about others. She lowered herself in the bathtub, ducking her mouth into the water and blowing small bubbles.

She leaned back, resting her head against the rim of the tub. Maybe she was overthinking, but something told her that Natsu was in some sort of trouble. A nagging thought in the back of her mind, a creeping feeling in the bottom of her heart.

Whatever it was, Lucy hoped that it was only her being paranoid.

* * *

 **Yooooo! -dances- I got this posted a lot sooner than I thought~~~ ^.^ I'm really happy about it tbh. I DIDN'T HAVE ANY TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES THIS TIME! Except for one small scare when google docs thought it'd be funny to take forever to load what I'd written. I had a heart attack when I saw a blank page, but then suddenly SWWOOP it was there and aaaagggghhh x~x the relief I feel right now cannot be explained.**

 **ANYWAYS I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It took me a bit to figure out how I wanted it to go and all. Also a lot of you guys had the right guesses :D -thumbs up- Nice! Some of the guesses were spot on and others made me think, what if I had chosen a different bad guy, and made me wonder how differently the story would be written ahaha. Also can anyone guess who that strange guy was? I made it kinda obvious with the ears and tail, and also mentioning Kyouka. I actually never planned to have Kyouka and others in here! I was just thinking of ways to make my story better when BAM that idea smacked upside the head! I hope it makes my fanfic run smoother ^^**

 **Oh and someone mentioned something about Natsu also being part werewolf? No no Lucy was just being sarcastic/trying to make a joke. So I tried to clear that up in this chapter, I hope that's not confusing -nervous laugh-**

 _ **Books Books and Books**_

 ** _So I'm reading The Colossus Rises by Peter Lerangis! My friend got this book for me on my b-day and so far it's really cool. As I said last chapter in my author's note, I finally finished All The Light We Cannot See and omggg I finally go the papers to do the book report -sigh- I AM SAVED! I'll be able to do the assignment instead of taking a big fat zero on the first day of school. Honestly that thought alone terrified me. Getting a zero on the first day in an AP English class is NOT the best way to do things T^T_**

 **Yeeeh! If you guys liked this chapter then please leave a review! It's nice to see what all you guys liked about each chapter! So, until next time~ :)**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight.**

* * *

Grunting, Lucy raised her legs, delivering a kick to her opponent. She smirked when she successfully shocked them, sending them tumbling to the ground. She tossed her braided hair over her shoulder as she offered a hand to the raven haired man lying flat on the ground. He was staring up at the ceiling, frustration, confusion, and surprise painted all over his face.

When he noticed her helping hand, he grasped it and pulled himself to his feet. "Lucy, you've definitely improved. I understand why Erza demanded you practice, but really we're nearly evenly matched. You should go against someone new, like maybe Gajeel... or Erza herself." Gray said, chest heaving up and down. He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up much more than it already was.

Lucy snorted, "Unlike you, Gray, I'd rather go home in on piece than break myself just trying to land a punch on one of those two." Her brown eyes went to the two, just like she and Gray, Gajeel and Erza were both training. Fists were being thrown and kicks were sent, but neither seemed to be landing a hit on the other. It looked as if they were evenly matched. "Honestly, I think Erza is holding back," Lucy whispered so they couldn't hear.

Gray nodded his head, both of them knew the power that Erza hid all too well. She was a former knight, former only because the king of Fiore decided women weren't powerful enough to be in his army. That had angered all the women of Fiore, but what could they do? Nobody could defy the king, not unless they had a death wish.

However, Lucy respected the fact that Erza wasn't holding a grudge over it, maybe a little bitter, but not holding herself over it so much she was holding herself back from improving. In fact, there were a lot of things for Erza to be bitter about, but she wasn't. It was a reason as to why she carried her sword around with her a lot, and why she was more comfortable in armor than anything else, though.

Sighing, Lucy lowered herself to the floor to sit down. They were at the swordmasters' where they usually came to train during the winter when it was far too frigid to practice outside. The blonde shivered at the thought of trying to battle Gray in the midst of all that snow. She would have lost of course, Gray was used to cold weather. He had grown up in the mountains with a woman named Ur and a boy named Lyon, that and being a sculptor, he was around ice quite a bit.

"I don't understand how you can stand the cold," She blurted, smiling in disbelief. "Also, please keep your shirt on, if Erza looks over here and sees you taking off your clothes she'll skin you alive." Lucy scoffed.

Gray went rigid, he chuckled nervously, lowering his shirt again and lifting his arm up to scratch the back of his head. He cleared his throat, "Maybe you could go against Juvia? Gajeel has said she's a good fighter."

Lucy's brown eyes roved around the room, landing on the blue haired woman sitting on a bench by the door. She was looking down at her hands shyly, and from the way she sat so tensely, Lucy knew the woman felt uncomfortable.

Standing up, Lucy stretched a bit before walking over to approach the woman. She sat down on the bench next to her, reaching back and pulling her braid tighter. "What's wrong? You look upset," Lucy tilted her head, giving Juvia a concerned look.

She was worried the woman was feeling left out. She knew it all too well. When Lucy had first come to Magnolia, she hadn't known anyone. She'd only made a few quick acquaintances when she had gone around to get the things she needed for her apartment. She'd met Erza while walking out of the grocery store, Gray when she'd left to go for the carpenters', Levy when she'd went to the bookstore, Gajeel out on the streets when she had nearly been run over by a runaway carriage, and Laxus, Cana, and Mira at the bar when Lucy had gotten a little too carried away.

Frowning slightly, Lucy wondered if Juvia was feeling overwhelmed having met so many people in a short amount of time. Trying to keep the relationships up could be exhausting! Lucy wanted to try and make Juvia feel welcome, but considering she didn't know the woman very well, Lucy didn't know how to go about it.

Juvia blinked, sitting up straight and quickly putting a smile on her face as she turned towards Lucy, "Nothing is wrong, Juvia is just tired. She is worried about Lucy…" She pursed her lips nervously. "She wonders why that man took Lucy…" Juvia started biting her lower lip, her eyebrows knitting together as her worrisome frown grew.

"I'm fine Juvia! I just have a bad arm, that's all, Gray has been teaching me to guard my injured side and fight with my good side, and according to him I have nothing to worry about." Lucy placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, "Besides, I am going to be carrying my sword around with me everywhere I go now. I'll always be on guard. Erza scolded for not doing so to begin with…" Lucy laughed softly, but it wasn't exactly filled with amusement.

Still, Juvia frowned. She nodded her head once, clasping her hands together she began to wring them nervously. "Juvia knows you've told her you are all right, but she… I still can't help but worry." She locked her blue eyes with Lucy, reaching forward to take hold of the blonde's hands. She rubbed her lips together before shaking her head, "I would be so sad if I lost you, Lucy. You're my friend and I hold all of my friends very close to my heart. No matter if I've only been friends with them for a week or for my whole life, I love each and every single one of them."

Lucy blinked, Juvia wasn't speaking in her usual third person, she was obviously being serious and trying to get her point across. Lucy's heart tugged down from her guilt as she realized how worried her friend was. Embracing Juvia in a hug, Lucy sighed, she wished everyone would stop worrying about her, she really was fine.

Well, as fine as she could be. She hadn't slept a wink last night, Lucy knew she needed her rest, but no matter how hard she tried, every time she closed her eyes, Lucy found herself back in that cave. She was terrified of going back to sleep and having the nightmares she'd had that day she had been kidnapped.

She was also scared that the man from before would somehow find her home, sneak in and take her again. Still feeling very paranoid, Lucy darted her eyes around the room, making sure there was nobody sneaking around. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw a shadow stalk past the window she and Juvia were sitting in front of.

Pulling herself out of hers and Juvia's hug, Lucy stood up, hand flying to the sword at her waist. She gripped it tightly when the door flew open and someone ran in.

Both, relief and embarrassment flooded her when she realized it was Cana that had entered the building. Noticing everyone was staring at her, Lucy lowered her head. No doubt they were going to be even more concerned about her well being.

"So, can someone explain why it was Laxus that told Lucy is back and safe!?" Cana growled, her brown eyes darting around the room, piercing everyone with a glare. Cana turned around to face the said blonde, pointing an accusing finger at her, "You," She muttered.

She stormed over to Lucy, her boots clacking angrily against the oak floorboards. She stood directly in front of the blonde, eyes narrowed in anger, but one look at Lucy's bandaged arm and Cana was embracing her.

Lucy stumbled back a bit, Cana had thrown her weight into the hug and had caught Lucy in surprise. Having her arms pinned to her side, Lucy stretched her wrist out, awkwardly patting Cana's side.

The brunette pulled back to give Lucy a relieved smile before it sagged into another frown. "I was so worried… I searched for so long, and oh my god Lucy I thought I'd lost you. You're like a sister to me, and, don't you ever scare me like that again, do you hear me?" Cana punched Lucy's good arm, light enough so it didn't hurt.

"Forgive me, Cana, I thought I had sent Juvia out to tell you as well, I realize now I hadn't. I also forgot to inform Mirajane… I suppose we'll be getting a visit from her as well?" Erza walked over, wiping the sweat away from her forehead.

"Oh, Ms. Mira was there when Juvia went to go tell Laxus and Makarov!" Juvia added from her spot on the bench. She stood up, walking over to join the group and conversation.

"Lucy, you're really tense, you okay?" Gray suddenly appeared right beside her. Lucy tried to cover up her flinch, but it was much too obvious to hide.

Gajeel raised a brow, letting his crossed arms fall to his sides. He ran a hand through his hair, sighing loudly, trying to pass off as irritated. "Look, Bunny Girl, we ain't gonna hurt ya, and we ain't gonna let anyone else hurt ya, relax. Yer safe now."

Lucy cast her eyes on the ground, nodding her head, "I know," She whispered, and a shiver laced it's way up her spine, "I'm just… I'm still scared. What if he comes back?"

"Then we'll kick his ass!" Gajeel chuckled, punching a fist into the air.

"We're not going to let him or anyone hurt you, got that?" Gray leaned his arm on her shoulder, giving Lucy a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, nobody is allowed to hurt my Lucy!" Cana smiled, slinging her arm around Lucy's shoulders. The brunette knocked Gray away with her elbow, smirking at how he sputtered in pain at her arm hitting him in the head.

Juvia gave Lucy a gentle smile, "I will always be here for you Lucy."

"As will I, and of course Levy as well," Erza added, smiling sweetly at the blonde.

Lucy looked around at her friends, not sure how to react to their protectiveness over her. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, a smile stretch on her lips, and her heart bloom as she felt their love for her. Her smile faltered, though, and guilt shook her to the very core. If her friends were so passionate on keeping her safe or saving her if need be, that meant they'd willingly throw their lives at risk for her.

She didn't like that. She wanted to be there for them too! Lifting her chin, she set her face, straightening her lips into a tight line. Her eyes glowed with fierce determination as she clutched her fist over her heart, and boldly said, "I will fight for you guys, too! Just like you are here for me, I am here for you." She looked each and every one of them in the eye as she said this, to get her point across.

When she looked at Juvia, the woman brought her fingers to her lips, nodding her head to show she understood. Gray smirked, lifting his hand up to give her a high-five. Gajeel grunted, shifting his crossed arms, though he said nothing the look in his eyes was a message of its own. Erza clapped her hand on Lucy's shoulder, squeezing it in reassurance. Cana pumped her fist in the air, using her other hand to pat Lucy's back.

"Now, why don't we kill this boring serious mood and go have a snowball fight?" Cana proposed, dropping her arm from Lucy's shoulder she whirled around and ran to the door. Look at the group over her shoulder, the brunette grinned, "Last one to the field is a rotten egg!"

"Cana, grow up!" Gray yelled, but still chased after her, snatching his coat off the bench pressed against the wall by the door. He turned sharply, slipping on a patch of ice on the sidewalk and began to slide down the hill, whooping loudly as he flew past Cana.

The brunette froze in her tracks, slapping her knee as she fell over with laughter. Then she jumped to her feet and yelled at Gray for cheating, racing down the street to beat him at the race she had started.

Shrugging on her new coat, Lucy grabbed Juvia's hand and started to run, ignoring how Juvia gasped and began to stutter nervously. "C'mon, Juvia! I'm not about to let you make me the rotten egg, so run!" Lucy looked at the bluenette, smiling brightly as the winter air ripped through her blonde hair. "Hurry up Erza, Gajeel! You two are gonna lose!"

"In yer dreams, Bunny Girl!"

"What a hilarious thought, Lucy."

Were their only replies before they rushed down the street, Gajeel shaking his fist when Erza pushed past him.

* * *

"Ah!" Lucy squealed when one of Gray's snowballs hit her in the face. She felt herself falling backwards and she waved her arms out in front of her, trying her best to catch herself, but it was all in vain. She fell to the ground in a puff of flurry white snow. Shaking her head a laugh rumbled from her chest, "Not fair!"

"There are no rules in a snowball fight, Lucy!" Gray cackled as he raced towards her, a snowball the size of her head in his arms. His grin was near demonic and Lucy's eyes widened at the size of the snowball he was lugging in her direction.

Lucy flipped over, scrambling to her feet as an excited scream sounded from her. Hearing Gray's footsteps behind her, Lucy veered right, trying to lose him. She failed. He was at her side in seconds, getting ready to drop the snowball on her when suddenly Gajeel tore through and tackled Gray head on.

The men tumbled numerous times in the snow, before Gray was flung to the side. He lay in the snow, so dizzy his eyes seemed to spin. Gajeel stood up, stumbling around so much he looked drunk. Both were covered from head to toe in snow; Gajeel was shivering. All four women blinked in shocked, shared a look with one another before throwing their heads back and laughing loudly.

Erza scoffed, bending down to scoop snow into her hands, she began patting it down, forming into a snowball. All the while grinning evilly, when she stood up straight again, she tossed the perfect sphere of snow up and down in her hand. "Boys, you have no idea how a snowball fight works. Gray, you do not make a boulder of snow and drop it on someone, Gajeel, you can't just tackle someone into the snow like that. You have to take them by surprise. Like so!" Without further ado she whirled around and shot the snowball at Cana.

"Whoa!" Cana yelled as Erza's throw nailed her right in the stomach. The brunette shivered, causing Lucy to bring a hand to her mouth it was obvious some of the snow had made it through Cana's coat. "Oh, it's on Scarlet!" Cana shook her fist at the redhead, her lopsided grin growing every second.

Lucy laughed as Cana and Erza charged at one another, pelting the other with snowballs that had seemingly appeared out of thin air. How did those two make them so quickly? Bending down to make one herself, Lucy gasped when an idea formed in her mind.

Squatted down in the snow, Lucy checked her surroundings. Gajeel and Gray had ignored Erza's lecture on how to have a snowball fight and were rolling around, one shoving snow in each other's face (Gajeel), the other stuffing it down the coat (Gray). Erza and Cana were circling each other, snowballs flying through the air left and right. Smiling at how the four were well distracted, Lucy stood up, clapping her hands together to rid them of any snow.

She looked for Juvia in the midst of the chaos that was Erza, Cana, Gajeel, and Gray. Spotting the blue haired woman at the base of the hill in the snow covered clearing, Lucy ran towards her. She kicked up clumps of snow as she ran, giggling when she powered herself in the face as a result.

Hearing footsteps crunching in the snow, Juvia looked up, her eyes widening when she saw Lucy dashing towards her. Thinking the blonde was going to ambush her with snowballs, Juvia jumped to her feet, spinning around to make a mad run for it, but Lucy caught her before she could.

"Wait," Lucy panted, pointing a thumb over her shoulder, "I have an idea," She beamed, her brows narrowing down for her to sport and evil smile.

Juvia blinked, she'd never seen such an expression on Lucy's face before. A giggle rose in her chest, the fact the blonde was getting so excited about a snowball fight… Juvia found it very sweet.

Clenching her fist, Juvia nodded, her blue eyes sparkling with eager, "Juvia is ready!"

Taking Juvia's hand, Lucy dashed into the forest, taking cover amongst the bare trees. There she crouched down in the snow, and began to make numerous snowballs, all varying in size. "We're going to be a team, Juvia I want you to start packing the snow into a wall. Connect it from this tree to that one over there."

Juvia nodded her head, her smile growing as her heart pounded. She couldn't wait to see how everyone would react. She and Lucy would be hidden by her snow fort and the trees as they threw snowballs, it was a perfect plan.

Once Juvia finished with the wall of snow, which was big enough for the girls to sit behind, Juvia moved to helped Lucy make snowballs. Lucy was shocked by Juvia's snow barricade, it was amazing how the woman had built it in such little time and how big it was! When asked, the bluenette had explained that she had learned while growing up, since she and Gajeel had often played in the snow together when they were young, which made Lucy think of a tiny Gajeel chasing after Juvia with giant balls of snow.

It was quite the amusing picture.

Returning to the task at hand, Lucy let an evil laugh out, she met Juvia's eye and counted down from three with her hand. "On one we start pelting them," Lucy whispered.

Three…

Juvia snatched at some snowballs, bringing them closer to her so she could reach them easier.

Two…

Lucy's smile grew, oh, this was going to be great.

One…

"Now!" She cackled.

Snowballs were sailing through the sky, landing on their targets or crashing into the snow around them. Their faces were priceless. Gray launched up into the air and made a run for it, taking cover behind the snowman they had all worked on before the snowball fights had started.

Gajeel was sitting on his knees, covering his face with his arms. He was trying to see where they were coming from, but Juvia was throwing them so quickly he wasn't able to get a good look without fear of taking a snowball to the face. "Juvia! I know it's you, dammit!" He growled, but failed to hide the laughter in his voice. He ran towards Gray, joining him behind the snowman.

Lucy was busy throwing snowballs at Cana and Erza. Erza had easily taken cover with the boys, but Cana was still in a state of shock. Her coat was covered in round patches of snow, her hair covered in the powdery flakes. The brunette locked eyes with Lucy for a split second, before a snowball smacked her right between the eyes.

"Ohhh, Lucy, you're so dead!" Cana yelled, running to join the other three behind the snowman.

Lucy and Juvia had been trying to keep their giggles down, but now that everyone had gone to hide the two women looked at each other and fell over laughing hysterically. They were holding each other up, sitting back to back. Both were shaking tremendously from their chest splitting cackles.

Tears from her laughter welled in Lucy's eyes, she moved to swipe them away and when she opened her eyes, all she saw was Erza, Cana, Gray, and Gajeel towering over her, Cana and Gajeel with snowballs the size of small boulders in her hands. She blinked, her mouth slowly opening to show her gawking surprise. Elbowing Juvia behind her, Lucy started getting up, hoping that she could somehow run for cover.

Right when she stood, Cana slammed her snowball into Lucy's side, guffawing as she did so. Gray narrowed his eyes, lip tugging into a lopsided smirk as he jumped past Lucy and tackled Juvia to the ground, he shoved his small snowball down the back of her coat, snorting when the woman went rigid in response. Gajeel smiled, a low 'gihi' escaping him as he stalked over to Juvia and simply dropped his boulder like snowball on top of her.

All that was left was Erza, making Lucy go pale. What exactly had this woman planned in such a short amount of time? The redhead always overdid it, whether it came to helping her bake, dancing, or even just a snowball fight. Quivering both from the cold and a little bit of fear as to what Erza Scarlet had in mind, Lucy squeaked when the woman reached down to Lucy and Juvia's pile of snowballs. They had made quite a lot and there were still some left over.

Erza picked up only one, analyzing it in her hands she rolled it around, looking it over. She raised an eyebrow when she looked past the snowball and down at Lucy, her smile widening when she took in Lucy's expression. The redhead raised her arm back, looking as if she were about to throw it right Lucy, but instead she swiftly moved down and stuck it in the blondes face.

 _'How anti-climactic,'_ Lucy thought

Lucy fell back, sprawling over in the snow, sputtering loudly to get the snow out of her mouth and rubbing any of it off of her face. She stayed there, lying on her back as laughter bubbled in her throat again. Stitches formed in her sides as a result of her laughing far too much that day, but that didn't stop her. As she started snorting and snickering with roaring chortles, everyone around her joined.

Their laughs subsided quickly when a particular frigid wind tore through, causing everyone, even Gray, to shiver.

"I say we go back to the apartment for some hot chocolate," Lucy proposed with a smile as she climbed to her feet.

Nodding in agreement, the group of friends all stood up and followed the blonde to enjoy a warm cup of hot chocolate.

* * *

Blanket wrapped around her shoulders, Lucy hummed at the warmth her drink provided. She licked her lips when she felt a little dribble from the corner of her mouth. "That snowball fight was probably the most fun I've ever had," She sighed, eyes roving around to take in everyone sitting in the livingroom.

Juvia had sat down in between Gray and Gajeel on the couch, she had fallen asleep at some point, and her head tipped over to rest on Gray's shoulder. The poor soul wasn't sure what to do, he was sitting as stiff as a board, all the while sweating nervously from Gajeel's glares that he periodically sent to the sculptor.

Cana sat beside Lucy in one of the arm chairs opposite of the couch, her arm draped around the blonde's shoulders, Lucy was shocked the brunette hadn't replaced her warm drink for a cup of alcohol. Erza sat in the arm chair that was beside Lucy and Cana's, her mug of hot chocolate had been emptied for awhile now, the woman had practically downed the sweet chocolate drink, the empty cup sat on the coffee table between the couch and arm chairs.

The fire behind them crackled, providing warmth to the group that was currently trying to thaw out from their day in the snow.

"It was great, but it would have been nice if Levy could have joined us," Erza sighed, grabbing a book from one of the many stacks on the coffee table. She flipped it one, beginning to read to herself. "Am I correct to say Gajeel was thinking the exact thing?" The redhead said grinning when the blacksmith sputtered from his spot on the couch.

Hearing a sigh coming from the brunette sitting beside her, Lucy turned to give Cana a curious look. "I should be getting home," She groaned as she stretched her arms above her head. "Gildarts will be in town for only one more day, says he won't be back till a week before Christmas…" Patting Lucy's head, Cana grabbed her coat from the rack they had put up to try and dry their coats. "I'll see you guys later, Lucy be sure to tell Juvia it was a pleasure to meet her," The woman waved as she walked to the door.

"Bye, Cana!" Lucy called from her seat in the living room, rolling her eyes when her only response was when Cana walked by the living room window and flashed a peace sign from outside.

Hearing the front door open a second time, Lucy smiled when she recognized Levy's short blue hair. Levy sent a tired smile in return, running a hand through her wild hair. She stepped into the living room, being careful to avoid Plue, who had curled up on the ground by the coffee table.

"Oh, hello Gajeel, Gray…" Levy stiffened when she noticed Gajeel sitting on the couch, she pulled a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she walked over to sit down with Lucy.

"'Ey, Shrimp," Gajeel grunted, snickering when Levy shot him a small glare.

"Wish you hadn't been working today, you missed an awesome snowball fight," Gray had actually achieved the courage to speak with Juvia at his side, however he grew silent and went pale when the woman shifted a little, her arms moving to hug his left arm close. He shot a look to Lucy, his eyes begging for help, but the blonde merely giggled as she shook her head.

"Goodness, looks like it drained Juvia," Levy added as she snuggled in beside Lucy, "Lu, you look pretty tired too!"

"Yeah, I'm exhausted. I'm having troubles staying awake," Lucy yawned, her eyes drooping a little.

"She's nodded off, what maybe… five times now? Why don't ya just go to sleep?" Gajeel grunted. His eyes darting to Juvia, the woman had shifted again and this time her head was resting on his arm. He rolled his eyes at her, but didn't move to do anything that would cause her to wake up or go back to resting her head on Gray's shoulder again. In fact, Gajeel looked rather comfortable like that.

"I just don't want to sleep yet," Lucy muttered, curling her blanket around her a little tighter.

"Why not?" Levy asked. "Lucy, are you still have nightmares?"

When the blonde didn't answer, Levy pursed her lips, looking over at Erza for any kind of help. From across the room, Gray frowned, "Well, I'd say that's pretty normal, Lucy. I wouldn't expect you not to have nightmares after what you went through those few days, that shit is terrifying. Even if you are having nightmares, you should still try to sleep. How long has it been since you've slept?"

Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Lucy looked away, muttering "Two days," under her breath.

"What!? Lucy, you need to sleep!" Levy gasped.

"You haven't gotten sleep for two days, and you were still able to keep up with Gray and have the energy to participate in that snowball fight… damn I've underestimated you, Bunny Girl." Gajeel grunted from his seat on the couch.

"Lucy, if you're having difficulties sleeping, then go to Wendy and Porlyusica. I'm sure they have some medicine that could help you sleep so heavily you won't have any dreams at all." Erza added, setting her book down to join the conversation.

"Ok, I guess I'll do that, though I doubt I'd be allowed to say no anyways. You guys worry way too much," Lucy stood up on wobbly feet.

"I'll go with you," Gray got up as well, "It'll be dark soon, besides you should really get your arm looked at."

Lucy nodded her head, walking over to grab her coat, it had dried by now and was warm from being hung near the fireplace. She grabbed the blanket from where it had fallen on the floor when she stood up, moving towards Juvia she draped the blanket over the sleeping woman, and then turned to leave with Gray.

"When you get back, I'll have some tea ready for you, it's what has always helped me relax," Levy hugged Lucy tight and then turned to go into the kitchen.

* * *

The streets were quiet but busy, the sun was only beginning to set and Lucy smile at the beauty of the snow covered city. She walked alongside Gray, watching their warm puffs of breath vanish in the cold air. It was December now, and people were getting ready for the holidays.

Many children were racing around the street, throwing snowballs at one another or making miniature snowmen in front of shops. Some went as far as to latch onto the back of a passing carriage and slide on the heels of their feet while their friends tried their best to keep up. It was quite enjoyable to watch, it made Lucy remember her days as a child and the fun she'd have in the snow.

Their feet crunching in the snow, Lucy bit her lip when the doctor's office came into view. Her eyes widened when she thought of having to explain what happened to her arm, her friends probably assumed she went to see Wendy and Porlyusica about her wounds before going back home, or they had come up with some scenario.

"Say, Lucy?" Gray asked as they came to a stop in front of the doors at the doctor's office, "Who patched up your arm? Juvia told me you'd come home injured and that Levy was replacing your bandages. Did you come here before going home?"

It was as if Gray had read her mind, swaying on her feet a little, Lucy tugged on her lip with her teeth. Then a thought popped up in her mind, why was she keeping Natsu a secret? Why did he have to be a secret? Her friends would certainly want to meet the man who had saved her life two times now. Sure they may not believe her story at first, but wouldn't it be best to tell them the insane truth than bury herself in a pit of lies?

Taking a deep breath, Lucy locked eyes with Gray, "Can I save that for when we get back to the apartment? I haven't exactly been… honest with everyone."

Dark eyes widening, Gray nodded his head slowly. He moved to open the door, but it swung open before he even reached the doorknob. Startled, he and Lucy jumped back a bit, both gawking at the pink haired woman staring at them.

Her eyes immediately zoned in on the bags under Lucy's eyes. Looking over her shoulder, Porlyusica, the pink haired woman shouted, "Wendy! We have another patient!" The woman grumbled something about Gray and Lucy interrupting their dinner before stepping aside and letting them into the small brick building.

Entering, Lucy and Gray sat down on the bench that was pushed up against the wall by the front door. Both of them had been to the two healers before and knew the drill. They were to wait for Wendy to come show one of them, whoever it was that need to be tended to, to their room.

They didn't have to wait very long, they sat there for just five minutes when a little girl with her long blue hair pulled back into two ponytails on either side of her head walked out with a clipboard in hand. Her brown eyes lit up and smile stretched from ear to ear when she saw Lucy and Gray, "Hello! It's been awhile!" She beamed, racing up to give them both a hug. "So, what's wrong?"

"Lucy's been having nightmares and because of it she hasn't gotten sleep for two days, also she needs the wound on her arm to be looked at," Gray explained for Lucy.

"Well, I'm not sure what we can do for the nightmares, but I can give you a medicine that will help you get the rest you need! Now, I just need to see the injury on your arm, Gray please wait here, Lucy come with me." Wendy spoke as she scribbled notes on her clipboard.

When working, one wouldn't be able to tell that Wendy was only twelve. The little girl always got caught up in her work, and her attitude was always serious when tending to her patients.

As they walked back into one of the rooms, Lucy heard the tinkle of a bell and paws padding on the wooden floor, she smiled when a familiar white cat raced up to walk beside Wendy. The cat looked up at Lucy, but when Lucy locked eyes with the animal, she merely flicked her tail and raised her nose into the air.

"Your cat has such an attitude, she's adorable," Lucy snickered.

"Carla, be nice," Wendy tutted, dropping her hand to scratch the cat's ear. "Here we go, just sit on the counter over there."

Doing as told, Lucy sat down on the countertop. She started taking off her coat and rolling up her sleeve to show Wendy the bandages on her right arm. Taking a few more notes, Wendy asked Lucy to take the bandaging as well. Once the old bandages fell, Wendy gasped.

"Lucy, how did you get injured?" Wendy asked, reaching forward to gently cup Lucy's arm in her hands. "Sorry," The girl muttered when Lucy hissed in pain, Wendy had grasped her arm just a little too tightly.

"Um, well…" Lucy sighed before explaining what happened. Wendy listened patiently, tending to the injury while Lucy told her what happened. When she was finished, Wendy handed the blonde a bottle of medicine for her to apply to her wound each night, and a remedy to help her sleep.

"I'm glad you're safe, Lucy," Wendy hugged the blonde tightly, dropping her professionalism since her work was done. "Be more careful, okay? Also, who tended to your wound? They did an amazing job! Even though you should have come the day after those bandages were applied, there's no sign of an infection of any sort. Whoever applied your bandages first saved your arm."

"Oh, well, ah… A friend did, he's saved me before, remember when I had to come in because I hit my head while in the woods? He applied those bandages as well." Lucy ignored the nervous sweat on the palms of her hands, reaching back to scratch the back of her neck.

"Well, he did a fine job, I'd like to meet him sometime!" Wendy beamed, "Also, please don't play around for awhile, your elbow might be close to healing up completely, but any more stress on your upper arm could make your wound worse."

"Yes, ma'am," Lucy nodded, sliding down from the counter. "How much do I owe?"

"Ah, I'll need to speak to Porlyusica about that, but once we've discussed it we'll send you the bill," Wendy explained. "Now go home and get some rest," She gave Lucy another tight hug, "Also I would love to spend some more time with you, so come over sometime okay?" Wendy beamed excitedly.

"Of course! You should come over as well, you could stay the night with us girls and meet our new friend Juvia!" Lucy returned the embrace.

She grabbed her coat again, tugging it on as she strolled down the hall to where Gray was sitting and waiting for her. "All right, let's go back." Lucy said as she grabbed the doorknob, "I've got some explaining to do…"

* * *

 **Dang it's been a month since I've updated and for that I apologize. School has started up again and with it comes homework and busy Friday nights. I try to work on new chapters throughout the week but seeing as I have homework every night now I can't really do that as much. In fact the only reason I updated was because today I am sick. So sorry if there's a mess of typos or grammar errors ._. I tried my best while proofreading and editing but nearly fell asleep twice. lol**

 **So yeah, Friday nights are going to be busy because I have to go to football games with the band since I'm in marching band and all ^-^ it's so much fun! Last Thursday was our first game an we won 61-6 even though I'm not crazy about football (or American Football for anyone who is thinking of what I'd call Soccer :P ) I still get pumped about my school team winning their games! Also this Friday we have an away game and it's going to be like a 2-3 hour drive. h e l p**

 **Also our show music is Daftpunk Medley, Clocks by Coldplay, and Crazy On You by ? I'm not sure I've never listened to Crazy On You before... If you wanna listen to this then be my guest, but if you're going to listen to daftpunk medley then I recommend Pentatonix's cover! Pentatonix is amazing omg.**

 _ **Books books and books~**_

 _ **So I just finished reading Heir of Fire in the Throne of Glass series and ohhhmygooodddd NO. WHY. My heart is broken ; A ; I'm just gonna... be over here in a puddle of tears BECAUSE THAT WAS NOT OKAY SARAH J. MAAS NOT. O K A Y.**_

 _ **Now I'm going to be reading The Accidental Hero by Matt Myklusch. I've also been reading Tokyo Ghoul and oooh weee it's really cool.**_

 **Also I've gotten a few friends into Fairy Tail and the other night a friend stayed the night and we stayed up alll night just watching Fairy Tail. She's on the Oracion Seis Arc now and omg I was watching it with her and daaang dude just rewatching it gives me feels. Fairy Tail makes me so so sooo emotional ._. I'm so excited about my friend getting into Fairy Tail though. My words whenever I get a friend into I always say "Yes! Join my suffering!" pfft**

 **Anyways, thank you guys for being so sooo patient! I promise I will try to update as best as I can, but I don't know how well that will go since school is burying me alive with all this work! My studies come first, so please keep that in mind.**

 **Oh, and leave a review please! It really helps my motivation and keeps me going as I write. So, until next time~ :D**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

Slinging his scarf around his neck, Natsu sighed through his nose. His eyes dragged over, staring at the part in the bare woods where Lucy usually emerged from when she would visit him and Happy. She hadn't been by for two nights in a row now. Had she finally grown to fear him? Natsu hoped not. Just as he had said the night he'd saved her from freezing to death, he saw her as a friend. If he remembered correctly, Natsu was sure that Lucy had said the same thing about him.

His eyes drifted up to the night sky, it was clear. The stars were glimmering brightly, it was the perfect night to stargaze. So where was Lucy with her lesson on constellations? Natsu had finally memorized Horologium, remembering Lucy had said it was the constellation of the clock. Tucking his chin into his scarf, Natsu narrowed his eyes. Where was that weirdo blonde?

Could she have been so injured and scared that she had locked herself up in her home? No, Natsu remembered hearing Lucy and her friends playing in the clearing. Their snowball fight had been very loud, their laughing and yelling had woken him up from his sleep. He wished he could have been apart of it, but a dragon tramping through the snow wasn't exactly inviting.

If only he weren't a dragon.

"Natsu, why hasn't Lucy come over yet?" Happy glided down onto Natsu's shoulder, tipping his head in confusion, "She promised she would be here last night, but she never showed up. I thought maybe she was still injured, but then she was playing in the snow with her friends earlier today... You don't think she..." The blue cat cut off, not wanting to say what Natsu had been thinking previously.

"No, I don't think she forgot about us, Happy." Natsu shook his head, "Her friends are probably keeping her close because they are afraid of losing her again. How about we go check on her?"

"Aye!"

With a small smile on his face now, Natsu started walking, feet crunching in the snow. He took in his surroundings, finding the snow white woods somewhat pretty. His favorite season was summer, the season he was named after. There were so many things to do in summer, too. Swimming, water balloon fights, picnics, napping in the warm sun, fishing, the list went on and on. Even though he favored summer, Natsu was still able to enjoy the fun and pretty things in winter.

"Whoa, look, a snow fort!" Happy chirped, fluttering his white wings in excitement as he flew over to the wall of snow. "There's snowballs too!"

The snow around was trampled, multiple footsteps and body shaped dents in the snow. Taking in the scent of the area, Natsu recognized Lucy's smell. It was faint, due to the snow dampening it. There other numerous scents, but he didn't recognize them so he didn't bother with them. Turning to look at the clearing, he smirked when he saw a snowman in the middle of the field of snow. Again there were many footprints, evidence of Lucy and her friends' activities earlier that day.

"C'mon, Happy-

A snowball hit him directly in the face when he turned to face the blue cat. The cold substance slid down his face, dropping to the ground with a soft 'plop'. He rose a pink brow at his feline friend, an irritated smile twitching on his lips. Immediately the cat recognized his mistake, his eyes widening and tail lowering. He spread his wings, ready to make a run for it, but just as he jumped in the air a snowball hit him and he plunged into a large mound of snow at the base of the tree behind him.

Natsu cackled, snatching at the left over snowballs and running to hide behind the tree he was standing beside. He peered around, eyes landing on the blue cat that zipped around the trunk of the tree to hide. He drew his arm back, getting ready to throw the snowball when a memory flashed through his mind. A gasp ripped through his lungs, and his grasp on the ball of snow vanished, sending it crashing to the ground.

Clenching his jaw shut, Natsu lowered his chin into his scarf, eyes staring intently at the bark of the tree he was taking cover behind. Sorrow pricked at his heart, rippling throughout his body as the memory played through. His brows furrowed, his fists clenched.

"Aha! Gotcha!" Happy cheered as he dropped down on top of Natsu's head. The cat purred happily, his tail swishing happily against the back of Natsu's neck, but sensing Natsu's change in mood, Happy's purring was cut short. His ears flatted as he leaned over Natsu's head to look into his eyes, "Natsu?" The cat chirped, rolling out of the man's pink hair to flutter in front of his face, "You okay?"

Shaking himself back into reality, Natsu looked at Happy, "Uh, yeah, I'm fine," He cleared his throat, tugging at the ends of his scarf. "Let's go check up on Lucy," Natsu waved his hand, gesturing for the cat to follow as he turned in the direction of the blonde's apartment.

Letting loose a breath from deep within his chest, Natsu watched the cloud of warmth dissipate into the frigid air. He could feel Happy's worried stare burrowing into the back of his head, but he ignored it. Happy knew why Natsu was upset, and so the man didn't need to tell him why he was acting like he was. He just wanted to make sure Lucy was safe, that Lucy was happy.

Stepping onto the cobblestone road of Magnolia, Natsu's nose crinkled. He wasn't lying when he'd mentioned the city smelled weird with all the people and animals living in it. The sounds were odd as well, his ears twitching with every clicking of doors being locked, or the thumps of people's footsteps, horses trotting as they pulled a carriage through town. It was so different from his cave in the middle of the woods. The smell there was nicer, the sounds more welcoming.

He turned onto Strawberry Street, perking up the slightest bit when he recognized the orange apartment building where Lucy and her friends lived. He looked over his shoulder, smiling at Happy and silently asking the winged cat to give him a lift. Without hesitation, the cat picked Natsu up into the air, flying over to orange brick building.

They flew by Lucy's window, but not seeing her anywhere inside her bedroom, the two drifted down to the first floor, where they saw her standing in the living room, talking with her friends. Being his nosy self, Natus listened in on her conversation.

"The man who saved me... his name is Natsu."

He froze at hearing his name. Lucy was telling them about him?

"What!?"

"Natsu?"

"I thought he was nothing, but a story to keep children from going into the woods!"

All of Lucy's friends shared the same horrified reaction. Natsu gripped the edge of the window sill as he stared into the livingroom. How could Lucy be telling them about him? Then that rose another question. Just how much had she told of him?

His expression was growing more and more grim, his heart sinking deep within his chest.

"What? What do mean by that?" Lucy's voice asked, and his eyes drifted over to the blonde. She was in her nightgown, her hair falling down her back like a golden waterfall. Her brown eyes were zipping around the room, going from one person to the next. "You all know of Natsu?"

"Well, yeah, but we thought he was just a ghost story." A man with long and out of control black hair grunted.

"The story of Natsu... The dragon in the woods."

Natsu cringed. The dragon in the woods. Of course the townspeople knew of him, he already knew this, but to be known as a ghost story? How had that happened? His confusion turned to one of boiling hatred; he knew exactly how that story had come about.

A short woman with blue hair shifted in her seat, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "Some say he was cursed to be a dragon because he killed the last dragon to ever exist. So a witch cast a spell on him, turning him into one."

Natsu snorted, the story was a little accurate. Save for the witch part.

"He flew to the woods, finding a cave to hide in, and there he grew to hate the human race. He would devour any man or woman who would get too close to him and his cave." The small woman kept going.

Lucy and Natsu both paled at that. Eating humans? Natsu would never resort to cannabalism, and he'd never grow to hate everyone just because of the two people who did this to him. He rolled his eyes, people were so dramatic and gullible.

"Um... I think we're talking about a different Natsu here." Lucy bit her lip. "The Natsu that saved me... He, uh, after I talked to him the second time he saved me, he said that he doesn't actually live in Magnolia. He was just visiting his family because it was his mother's birthday."

Whoa, Natsu didn't know Lucy could lie like that. His heart lifted from the dark pit it had fallen into, and he smiled at her. She was covering for him!

"I guess it was just a coincidence with the names," Lucy scratched the back of her neck, laughing nervously, "I didn't mean to scare you all..."

A woman with scarlet hair sighed in relief, "Well, Lucy, we're just glad that you're safe."

Everyone in the room nodded their head in agreement which started a big smile on Lucy's face. Natsu had never seen her smile like that, he narrowed his eyes a bit, how could he get a big smile like that out of her?

"Now that we've got that over and done with, I'm goin' home," The man with crazy black hair stood up, stretching his arms in a way that made his bones crack. "Later, Shrimp!" He laughed in a really odd way that had Natsu furrowing his brow, what kinda people did Lucy hang out with?

He watched another man stand up, Natsu immediately decided he did not like this particular man anymore than the other. "Yeah, I'm leaving too. See ya later, everyone."

Seeing them walk out of the living room, Natsu realized almost too late that they were coming out through the front door. He grabbed Happy by the tail and ran into the alleyway beside the apartment. The cat, startled by Natsu grabbing his tail out of the blue, flew them up onto the roof just as the two raven haired men passed by. It was perfectly timed too, because both men paused and stared down the alleyway with narrowed eyes.

One of them, either brave or stupid, stomped into the darkness. "If anyone's there ya better show yerself. I ain't about to let some stranger pass by here after what happened to Bunny Girl." Grunted the man with the out of control hair and- as Natsu stared more intently, piercings all over his face. He was seriously going to ask Lucy what was with her choice in friends.

"C'mon, Gajeel, there's nobody there," The other dark haired man sighed, obviously annoyed.

"I can see that for myself, Snowflake. 'Sides you were worried too."

"Yeah, well, that's because Lucy is my friend too. I don't want her suddenly disappearing again." Snowflake, Natsu decided he liked that name, replied.

Watching them walk down the street, Natsu turned around, crawling over the roof top to get over to Lucy's window. He wondered if she was in her room yet; he wanted to talk to her. He wanted to thank her for covering up about know him.

Leaning over the side of the roof, Natsu looked in through Lucy's window his eyes able to see clearly into the dark room. He flinched when the blonde walked into the room and closed the door behind her, pressing her back against the wood. Her chest heaved with a sigh of relief, her hand pressing against her chest.

She looked like she was about to say something to herself, but then her eyes locked onto his. Her jaw dropped, and she looked she was about to scream until she realized who exactly was at her window. She snapped her mouth shut and stormed over to the window, crawling up onto her bed she slammed her it wide open. Natsu barely had the time to yank upright to avoid being smack in the forehead by the shuttered window.

"What are you doing here!?" Lucy hissed, leaning over the windowsill to peer up at him. "And stop stalking me. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"We're not stalking you," Natsu stuck his tongue out at her, Happy nodded once in agreement, "Just checking to see if you're safe. How's your arm?"

"Oh, my arm is fine," Lucy replied, but narrowed her eyes, "but don't change the subject-

"Lucyyy!" Happy interrupted her and jumped down, landing on the blonde's face, "I was worried about you! You didn't visit for two nights in a row and you didn't show up tonight!" The blue cat whimpered, rubbing his cheek against Lucy's.

"I'm sorry," Lucy cringed, "My friends were worried sick about me and-

"It's okay, Luce," Natsu shook his head, "We understand."

"Aye," Happy purred, he grabbed hold of Lucy and flew up to set her on the roof beside Natsu.

The blonde flinched when Happy picked her up without any warning, but when he dropped her next to Natsu she decided to just send the blue cat a glare. "Warn me next time," She huffed. She looked up at the night sky, brown eyes reflecting the stars.

Natsu followed her gaze, recognizing Horologium plastered in dark winter sky. He pointed up at the particular constellation, a shock of warmth pricking his heart when Lucy smiled happily at the fact he could find it on his own. She started pointing in different directions, turning her head this way and that as she rambled on about stars and constellations. She told a few memories of her and her mother watching the stars together. Her father popped up a few times even.

Natsu enjoyed listening to Lucy go on and on about the stars. His favorite thing was when she slowly trailed off, growing silent in her own world of glimmering specks in the sky. Her eyes would dart back and forth, up and down, as she mumbled soft words to herself. With his strengthened hearing, Natsu picked up a few words.

He had no idea what she was muttering about, but when he heard the familiar words of, "Once upon a time," He knew she was speaking fairy tales. What he didn't know, was why. Why on earth was she droning on about fairy tales? Was that something she shared with her mother?

He went ahead and answered that as a yes, but he wouldn't know for sure unless he asked her. But... as he looked at her again, he didn't dare bother her. She looked so at home, so comfortable that he didn't want to ruin it for her. He sighed, his hand dragging up to play with his scarf.

He frowned as certain memories came to mind, memories of he and his father. He looked up at the sky, wide eyes taking in the beautiful view that Lucy's rooftop provided. He could feel the scenery around him shifting, fading, morphing into the surroundings that were achingly familiar to him.

* * *

 _Laughter could be heard from the garden as two children raced around. Two little boys, brothers, were playing a game of chase. The youngest appeared to be around five or six years old and the oldest seemed no older than eleven. Their laughs rang out and echoed as their fun went on._

 _The youngest ran past the rose bushes, looking over his shoulder to see if his brother was following him, he wasn't watching where he was going and the next thing he knew he was slamming right into someone. He fell backwards, roughly landing on his rump. He blinked away his shock, lifting his head up to stare at the man towering over him._

 _Spiky hair, just like his, the only difference was the color; while the man's hair was a ruby red, his was a light pink. Bright, kind, green eyes stared down at him, as a big grin split his lips. "Natsu, you're going to ruin your scarf again if you're not careful," The man tutted, bending down to scoop the boy up in his arms. Natsu let out a stream of happy giggle as the man spun him around in a quick circle before hugging him to his chest._

 _"But you'll just fix it again. Won't you, Dad?" Natsu poked his father's cheek, eyes screwing shut with the big smile he wore._

 _His father sighed, "Yes, but that doesn't mean you can damage it all you want, I do want you to be careful with it! It was very difficult for me to make."_

* * *

Tearing himself back to reality, Natsu let out a heavy sigh. Slouching a bit, Natsu held the end of his scarf, rubbing the fabric with his fingers. His eyes blurred and he startled when he realized he was close to crying. Going rigid, he shook his head and quickly passed it off as a huge yawn.

Why had that memory suddenly resurfaced? Why was he thinking about it? Thinking about him? It had happened so many years ago... so why did it still bother him. He felt frustration building up from it, anger as well. Though none of it was directed at himself, or his father. It was directed at two particular people.

"Hey, Natsu? Can I ask you something?" Lucy turned her head towards him. There was something about her expression that he didn't like. Was that fear he saw? Fear... fear and concern. He had to hold back the sigh that was rising in his throat, he knew exactly what she was going to talk to him about. "My friends they told me this story that was about you and-

"If you're scared of me and don't want to be friends anymore, I understand," Natsu interrupted her and stood up. He waved for Happy to follow him, but he wasn't even able to walk away. Feeling Lucy tug on the end of his scarf, he looked at her over his shoulder, "Some of that story is true, y'know," He whispered.

"How do you even know what I am talking about," Lucy pursed her lips.

"Because I heard. I came here before you went to your room, I heard you tell your friends about me... or try anyway. I knew the towns people knew about me, but... as a ghost story. That's kinda funny," Natsu laughed coldly. "I guess in some ways I am a ghost," He clenched his fists, not noticing how Lucy's frown of worry grew. "Actually, now that think about that, the story they told isn't very accurate at all. I never killed a dragon. I only fought one."

"...You fought a dragon."

"Oh, and the me being cursed part is true as well."

"I kinda pieced that together, but you fought a dragon?" Lucy repeated herself, still shocked in what she had heard.

"Yeah, I failed though... and... because of that..." He sucked in a painful breath, one hand snatching at his scarf. He didn't like talking about that. Didn't like thinking about it either. He wanted to leave it alone, leave it behind. He just wanted to forget about what his failure caused.

"Because of that you were cursed..." Lucy nodded.

Natsu flinched. Yes, that had been why he was cursed, but there was something else his failure caused. Only a few other people knew about it, but he didn't speak to them or speak of them anymore. He looked down at his scarf, heart aching in his chest.

He slowly nodded his head, turning back around to sit.

"Natsu, just because I've learned more about you doesn't mean I'm afraid or that I don't want to be your friend anymore. I'm worried about what's wrong, why you're acting like this," Lucy slowly stood up, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know why you fought a dragon, I don't know your entire story, but I have learned more about you... that's what friends do. They learn about one another, they're supposed to tell each other things. Friends are there for each other, if you need to unload something from your chest... I'm your friend, you can tell me. I may not understand, but I'll listen."

Natsu could feel the smile she was giving him, the fact that she was willing to do so much for him made him feel something he hadn't felt in a long time. He couldn't place his finger on it, but it made him feel warmer. It made a small smile lift the corner of his lips. He turned his head, eyes locking with Lucy's, and his smile grew.

Turning around, he sat back down on the edge of the roof, swinging his feet back and forth carelessly. Lucy sat down next to him, Happy curled up in between them.

Silence fell between the three of them, Natsu and Lucy quietly gazing at the starry night sky, Happy sleeping soundly between them. Lucy pointed out constellations to him, and he goofed off by making up his own. He thought she would have sighed about it, called him ridiculous, but then he remembered she had mentioned that she and her mother would make up their own together. Soon she gave up telling him about real constellations and made up some of her own as well.

"While we're on the topic of friends, just who were those people in your living room?" Natsu snorted, "Metal Porcupine, and Snowflake. Who were those two, just what kinda people are you friends with?"

He heard the intake of breath and had to shush her when Lucy roared with laughter. She quieted herself, but she had to take numerous gasps of air to calm down. Natsu smiled with her, proud that he had veered the conversation from getting too personal about him.

"Their names are Gajeel and Gray," Lucy corrected with a giggle, "The others were Juvia, Erza, and Levy." With that she began to explain how she met everyone.

She decided to first start off with Erza, explaining how intimidating the woman is, but once someone gets to know her they realize how kind the red head could be. She described the woman's love for sweets, and how she was shocked that Erza hadn't joined her to work in the bakery yet. The woman was faithful to her job as a blacksmith, her love for weapons being somewhat greater for her love of cakes.

Next was Levy, the bookworm who was also her personal cheerleader. The petite bluenette had a love for books just as big as Lucy, and when she had moved into the apartment the number of books and bookshelves had doubled. She smiled about how the two of them would recommend books to one another, sometimes even have reading sessions whenever they were both free.

When she mentioned Gray, she rose a brow at how Natsu sneered at the name. He hadn't even met the sculptor and he had taken a disliking to him already. She rolled her eyes when Natsu corrected her, calling her friend "Snowflake" was much better. She thought it a good idea to leave out how the man had a habit of randomly losing his shirt and sometimes his pants, knowing Natsu would react in some fashion.

When she spoke of Gajeel and Juvia, Natsu only reacted oddly to Gajeel. First he muttered on about "What kinda name is Gajeel, anyway?" before hushing and deciding to listen. He had felt the glare Lucy was giving him and wished he had kept his mouth shut. For being a weird blonde, she had her moments where she definitely intimidated him.

As he listened, part of him was happy that she was telling him about her friends, but another part of him was upset. Jealous at the fact that she probably cared about these people more. Then he began to worry. What if one day she forgot about him, because she was so busy with her other friends? What if she treasured those friends so much that she thought she didn't want to be his friend?

He didn't want that to happen, he wanted Lucy to continue to visit him at night. He wanted to sit at the entrance of his cave, excitedly staring at the woods around him as he waited for Lucy to emerge from the bush branches and tall grass. He liked being friends with Lucy, she made him smile, made him feel something he hadn't in a long time.

She made him feel important, as if someone really did care about him, he realized.

"Your friends sound really nice," He muttered, staring down at his lap with an unreadable expression. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lucy stiffen.

"Yeah, they are, but you and Happy are, too. No matter how weird you guys call me for talking to the stars you listen to me ramble about and to them," She said, "Erza, Juvia, Gray, Levy, Gajeel... none of them really understand how important stargazing is to me. Erza, Levy, and Gray sort of know, but they don't fully comprehend. I've argued with them countless times to let me go to the clearing and sit there just to talk to the sky. I still go, though, because it makes me happy. It feels like I'm with my mother again. Sitting in her lap, talking about the stars..." She trailed off.

Natsu heard her sigh and could smell the tears that were silently rolling down her cheeks. He went rigid, whirling around to look at her with wide eyes. Why was she crying? He didn't know what to do, so he just stared. Watched as her eyes glimmered in the moonlight and reflected the pretty stars above.

Her eyes flicked over to him, and she startled. "Ah, sorry... I just can't help it sometimes... I still miss her," Her brow lowered, eyes narrowing slightly.

Natsu could understand that, and he hated how he did. He pursed his lips, hand twiddling with the end of his scarf. "Don't apologize for crying, it's an emotion... everyone has 'em," He grunted awkwardly.

Silence fell between them. It was comfortable and oddly relaxing. Natsu exhaled through his nose, leaning back until he was laying against the shingles of the roof. He folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, he swung his legs that hung over the edge of the housetop. He peeked one eye open to check on Lucy, secretly hoping her tears had stopped.

"You really think Happy and I are nice friends" Natsu thought aloud. He couldn't stop thinking of what she said about him and Happy.

"Well, duh," Lucy looked at him thoroughly confused, "Why would I visit every night if I didn't?"

Natsu clicked his tongue, darting his eyes away. He answered with a simple shrug as he face turned red from being embarrassed. He had never thought of it like that, looking down at the cat sleeping in between them he scoffed when he realized Happy wasn't sleeping at all. The damned cat was giving him a smug look, his tail flicking back and forth in a teasing manner.

"Oh, don't mind him, Lucy," Happy purred, "He can be dumb like that."

"How rude! Natsu is not dumb, I can't believe you would say such a thing. Isn't he your friend?" Lucy crossed her arms, glaring at the blue feline. Happy flattened his ears, and looked up at Natsu with pleading eyes not realizing he had be mean. Natsu gave Lucy an odd look as he rubbed the top of Happy's head, accepting his silent apology.

He was about to ask the blonde how she had done that when she sat up straight. "What time is it!?" She nearly shrieked but thankfully remembered to stay quiet. "Ohh, no," She groaned when she realized the moon was in the middle of the sky. "Tomorrow is not going to go well," She whined. "I need to get some rest Natsu, I'll see you guys tomorrow night," Lucy sighed, patting his hand softly, she looked down at Happy and asked, "Can you help me back to my bedroom?"

"Aye, sir!" He replied, picking her by her shoulders.

"Night, Luce," Natsu waved.

He stood up when he heard her window shut and smiled at Happy when the cat glided back up to him. Just as he had done with Lucy, Happy carried Natsu by the shoulders as they headed home to their cave.

"Lucy is really nice," Happy muttered off distractedly, "She may be weird, talking to the stars an all, but I like her. I wonder if she'll bring us a snack tomorrow night, like she did some nights ago!"

"In it for the food, huh?" Natsu snorted. He cackled when Happy started naming off other things he liked about Lucy, proving the fact he didn't only like her because of the snack she had brought. He fell silent, calmly watching the buildings pass by beneath them. He agreed that Lucy was nice.

Natsu enjoyed the feeling of having another friend to smile with. Even though he had already admitted to Lucy being his friend, he still dwelled on how it filled him with warmth.

* * *

 **I'M BACK~ Again... I apologize for taking so long to update! I won't be super duper busy anymore. Marching band season is pretty much over, we're only marching at games now. I'm really sad to see it end, though. I loved the show that we performed this year! It was so much fun... but waking up at 5AM every morning was _not fun at all_. We didn't win any contests, but we did make it to finals a couple of times which I'm excited about. PSSH Who cares if we didn't win anything, everyone had fun and that's what counts!**

 **AND OMG GUUUUYS! THANK YOU SO MUUCH~! The Dragon Prince has reached 100 reviews and that means so much to me T^T thank you ;A;**

 **I love it when you guys write comments, because I get to know what you enjoyed about the chapter and it really helps me feel better about my writing.**

 **Thanks for being so super patient with me and my ridiculously slow updates! Please leave a review, because they really do make smile and brighten my day. I come back to read the comments you guys leave whenever I need motivation or something to cheer me up.**


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten.

Sitting on his throne, the King of Fiore scowled. To say he looked angry was an understatement. The way his dark eyes glowed like red hot coals told his servants that he was outraged. He had just learned of the news. Heard that his most powerful team of troops had come back from a retrieval mission with empty hands... They had failed him. Not only that, but one of them had been defeated by a single person, and that person had been unarmed, scared, _and_ lost.

The King's fists clenched, nail's digging into the skin of his palms. Taking a deep breath, he focused his eyes on the man kneeling before him. "What excuse have you come to give me today, Jackal?" He asked, dark eyes burning with rage.

"No excuse is good enough to cover up the fact that I failed. It will not happen again, Your Majesty." Jackal answered. He was a peculiar man, if that was what you would call him. The cat ears poking from his hair and long tail twitching behind him, were not human at all. "I did not realize the girl could fight, she caught me off guard. I did, however, get a good swipe at her before she ran," Jackal grinned at the tile flooring of the throne room, it dropped quickly when he could practically feel the rage emitting from the king.

"You had better hope it does not happen again, or I will see to it that you will never fail me again," The King spoke, voice smooth and dark. The force of his voice made Jackal lock up, the blond then decided he would do his best to see that he never failed nor angered the king. "You are dismissed, send in Kyoka and Acnologia."

Standing up straight, Jackal avoided eye contact with the intimidating man sitting on the throne. If he could feel the fury being sent his way, then he did not want to see the sight of if glowing in the king's eyes. He walked slowly to the giant doors at the end of the throne room, wondering what the king wanted to discuss with Kyoka and Acnologia. No doubt it had to do with their failed mission.

A shiver threatened to crawl up his spine when Jackal wondered what the king's reaction would be to that. Not only had they failed to bring Lucy Heartfilia, but they had failed to locate the one they were truly after.

The cursed dragon, Natsu.

* * *

Lucy let out a heavy sigh, looking all around her bakery with her arms crossed over her chest. "So, I was thinking, since there's a lot of room behind the building, we could expand that way. Making both the dining area and kitchen bigger!" She thought out loud, turning to smile at Jet and Droy.

"Sounds like a plan, Ms. Lucy!" Droy smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Jet and I will discuss blue print ideas this and visit once we have some finished!"

Jet wondered around the building, eyes roaming around the room to take in the style and size. "Do you wanna keep the style? Cobblestone walls and wooden floors with floor to ceiling windows?"

Nodding her head, Lucy hummed, "Yes, I like the look of it! Oh, and I don't mean to be rude, but I would like it to be done quickly..."

"Oh, we completely understand! Your bakery is famous and we know the amount of people that you get orders from, so don't worry, we can make it a quick job. We'll be quick and careful," Jet assured her, "It will still take awhile though, maybe two months."

"Really?" Lucy's eyes widened, "I thought it was going to take longer than that!" She clapped her hands together and bounced on her feet excitedly, "I'm so happy about this! I've been wanting to do this for the longest time. I've finally saved up enough for it! Thank you, Jet and Droy!" She pulled them both down for a quick hug, an eager giggle slipping from her lips.

"No problem! We'll be heading back to our shop now, have a nice day Ms. Lucy!" Jet laughed, heading out the door with Droy behind him.

Holding her hands behind her back, Lucy bit her lip to try and contain her smile. It didn't work very well, because in seconds she was grinning from ear to ear and bouncing on the heels of her feet again. She had been dreaming of expanding her bakery for the longest time! Now people would be able to comfortably dine in, and she'd be able to bake numerous things at once! Juvia wouldn't be so cramped at the front counter, either.

She knew it would take awhile, but Lucy did need a break. Besides, Wendy hadn't given her the okay to start working with the condition of her right arm. She was still healing and applying new bandages.

Even though she wasn't having nightmares anymore Lucy still hadn't felt safe ever since that night, she was afraid she never would. She couldn't get the feeling that something very wrong was going on, but there was a reason behind that. She had been kidnapped, injured, and nearly frozen to death in one night! Who could blame her for feeling paranoid?

Tugging on her coat, Lucy stepped outside and locked the bakery door. She was about to head back to the apartment when she felt a small tug on the skirt of her dress. Turning around, she smiled down at the two children who stared at her with curious eyes.

"Ms. Lucy, when will your bakery open again? We miss your cookies..." One of them said, prodding their fingers together as they avoided eye contact. A shy blush rose on their cheeks and Lucy bit back a chuckle.

"I'm afraid not anytime soon," She sighed, "My building is going to be worked on for the next few months... but when I reopen, I will definitely save extra treats for the both of you," She promised with a smile. She hated to disappoint everyone in Magnolia and anyone else who was hoping to visit her bakery, but she'd been planning this for months now! She was so excited to finally see her dream come true.

Well... one of her dreams had come true. She still hadn't met her prince charming. She was beginning to doubt she ever would, but at least she had her friends and her father. Walking down the street, Lucy gasped as she realized that her father hadn't written back yet. Her letters usually only took two to three days to reach him, so why hadn't he sent his reply?

Panic spreading through her, Lucy broke off in a run. She recalled her father mentioning he hadn't been feeling well. Was it so serious that he was going to need more than just some good rest? Paranoia was making her face go as white as the snow covering Magnolia, memories of her mother filled her mind.

 _Walking into her the bedroom, Lucy tiptoed to the bed, where her mother lay frighteningly still. Her father sat on a wooden stool beside the bed, holding her mother's hand. His expression grim, his eyes glistening with tears._

 _Approaching her father, she tugged on his shirt, "Daddy... what's wrong with, Momma?" She asked._

 _"She's sick, darling," Was her answer. Lucy held her breath, looking at her mother with a worried expression._

 _"But... Mommies aren't supposed to get sick. She's probably just extra tired..."_

 _An arm fell to wrap around her, pulling her up into his lap, her father sighed. "Lucy... everyone gets sick." He said, voice hoarse and tired._

Lucy bit back the lump in her throat, forcing herself to ignore those painful thoughts. She couldn't handle doing a retake of those moments. She would collapse in the middle of town, sobbing like a child if she kept going down that road. Not only would it be embarrassing for her, but people would begin to worry even more than they already did after hearing of her capture.

She worried her father was falling ill with the same sickness that had taken her mother away from her. Clutching her shaking hands together, Lucy let loose a heavy breath and watched her breath cloud in the cold winter air. She would have to send her father a care package of some sort, or maybe even visit him. It was almost Christmas time and she did often go back home for the holidays, but she would probably have to go back early to take care of him.

Hopping up the steps of her apartment, Lucy nearly ripped the door off its hinges when she opened it with a slam. Jumping out of her boots and shrugging off her coat, she hurried into the kitchen where Juvia was cleaning up the dishes from breakfast.

"Juvia, was there any mail today?" Lucy asked so quickly she almost doubted that Juvia could understand what she was saying.

"Uh, yes, Juvia set it on the table," The blue haired woman pointed where the letters sat.

Snatching up the envelopes, Lucy shuffled through the pile. She had to sit down when she saw a letter marked from her father, still she was not as relieved as she wanted to be. Ignoring Juvia's concerned stare, Lucy opened the envelope open and began to read.

 _Dear Lucy,_

 _I apologize if I worried you, I did not mean to take so long in writing my reply. But just as you are worried about me I am concerned for you. Your friend, Erza, sent in a letter telling me that someone had taken you away, but she said that you are safe now. She even mentioned that you had fought your captors? I do hope you gave them some good bruises. I wish I could too give them a run for their money, but being this old I feel like I would hurt myself more than I would hurt them! She also wrote that you were injured. I hope it won't leave a scar or that's it too painful..._

 _Oh, and do not worry too much about me, I am making a good recovery._

Lucy let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She wasn't all that surprised when she felt a tear roll down her cheek. She was just so relieved to hear that her father was doing well, she wanted to get up and dance around. Swallowing the lump in her throat and taking a much needed deep breath, Lucy continued reading her father's letter.

 _I have followed the doctor's orders and have been resting and taking the medicine he has given me. Though, if you don't mind, I would like to request some cinnamon rolls. I have been craving for them ever since I found your mother's recipe, and I wish to know how they taste when made by your hand._

 _In your last letter you also mentioned that you have a helping hand in the bakery now? That is very good! I've always been worried of you overworking yourself, please don't let it take up a majority of your life like I once did..._

 _Please stay warm when you are out stargazing! It's been snowing non-stop here in Konzurn... it's beautiful but I am getting quite sick of it already. It's like this every year._

 _Remember that giant snowman we built? Maybe we can build another one when you come to visit me this Christmas!_

 _Has it snowed in Magnolia yet? What kind of winter fun have you and your friends had?_

 _I love you very much, Lucy, write back as soon as you can. - Your Father._

Smiling, Lucy stared at the letter. She couldn't define the emotions swirling inside her all she knew was that she was happy and honestly wished she could receive a second letter from her father. Standing up, she made her way upstairs to write back to her father. She had so much to tell him.

Sitting down at her desk, she grabbed her pencil and paper and began to write. Telling him of her plans to renovate her bakery, how arm was healing, how she couldn't wait to visit him for Christmas.

* * *

Boots crunching through the snow, Lucy smiled over at Juvia. She had to bite back a giggle at the woman's confused expression, Lucy had grabbed her hand and run out of the house so suddenly there was no wonder Juvia was overwhelmed. Lucy's idea to have a girls' day out had been quickly thought of and brilliant! They could also get Christmas presents for their friends while they were going shop to shop. It was still the beginning of December so Christmas wasn't going to be any time soon, but Lucy always preferred getting her Christmas shopping done early.

"Where are Lucy and Juvia going?" Juvia asked, lifting a brow. Her blue eyes were beautifully bright, perfectly matching the cold winter sky. Even though the woman was confused, Lucy was able to see an excited smile lift on Juvia's lips.

"We are having a girls' day out! I want to get to know you better, we're friends after all!" Lucy beamed, tilting her head to the side. Taking Juvia's hand in hers, Lucy began walking down the street, "Since the bakery is being renovated, we are going to have a couple of months to ourselves. I was thinking we could take advantage of that and have some fun friend time!"

The glow in Juvia's eyes was all Lucy need to know that the woman was more than delighted. Everything about her seemed to light up! Lucy had taken notice that Juvia was rather shy when it came to interacting with others. Once she put herself out there, she would warm up and would come out of her shell for a bit, but Lucy was also aware that Juvia might have been feeling out of place.

Everything in Magnolia was new to Juvia! The streets, shops, people - maybe, instead of shopping, a tour of Magnolia would be better! Lucy nearly caused Juvia to trip when she froze midstep.

"Juvia, how would you like a tour of Magnolia?" Lucy turned to stand in front of the woman. She held her by the shoulders and locked eyes with her.

A soft gasp sounding from her, Juvia clapped her hands together, "That sounds lovely!"

"All right, well, let's get started!" Lucy crossed her arms and nodded her head.

* * *

"This right here is the Magnolia library," Lucy waved her arm out to indicate the building behind her. It was gigantic, two stories high and with a basement as well. The steps leading up to the big oak doors were marble, and there were two big statues standing in front. Both were lions, standing defensively, their mouths open midroar. For the fun of it, Lucy had named them after having visited the library a few times. She'd given them the names Leo and Loke.

Juvia held her hands behind her back, staring at the large building. It was a magnificent structure. When Lucy had first taken in its beauty, she teared up, but she would never tell anyone about that.

"It's what I first loved about Magnolia," Lucy sighed. She remembered how she nearly dropped her purse when she first saw the Magnolia Library. Shaking her head she brought herself back to reality, she didn't want to bore Juvia by staying in one place for too long. "Do you want to go inside, or keep walking around?"

"Juvia would love to look inside! She wants to read books about flowers... she hopes to start a garden in the flower bed by the steps of the apartment building next spring," She smiled, poking her fingers together, "Ah, if that's all right with Lucy, Erza, and Levy..."

"Of course! We've always tried to keep a flower bed there... but the flowers always ended up wilting," Lucy scratched the back of her neck, smiling sheepishly. "I guess neither of us have a green thumb," She giggled, turning to walk up the steps.

Now that she was actually in front of the big doors, Lucy couldn't exactly remember when she had last been to the library. She had gotten so busy when her bakery had become practically famous, and with her going stargazing every night she didn't have much free time to read. She used her days off from work to either clean the apartment, run errands, or reread some books on her shelf at home.

When they stepped inside, Juvia's jaw dropped. The bookshelves in the library seemed to go on forever! The librarian looked up from her seat at the front desk and smiled at them.

"Need help finding anything?" The librarian looked up from her seat at the front desk and smiled at them.

"Books on gardening," Juvia held her hands behind her back, swinging back and forth on the heels of her feet.

The lady behind the desk looked confused for a second, and hesitated before pointing a hand towards the stairs leading up to the second floor. "You can find those upstairs," She said, giving Juvia an odd look as she and Lucy walked by. It wasn't exactly normal to be getting books on something like gardening in the middle of winter.

Helping Juvia search for good books on plants and step by step gardening was time consuming, but fun. Once they found a good amount for Juvia to study on they decided to go downstairs and look for other types of books.

Lucy shared her list of books, recommending some to Juvia. She grew excited whenever Juvia showed interest or if she mentioned she had read one of them before. Soon enough they were sitting in an aisle, surrounded by a huge pile of books.

"Ooh! This one! This one is my favorite," Lucy snatched the book that had caught her eye. "I've reread it at least a million times, " She laughed, "It's a romance novel. This girl dreams of meeting the perfect man, and her idea of one is ridiculous. He has to meet all these requirements and features. Tall, dark hair, blue eyes, kind, a gentleman, generous, sweet, compassionate. Basically all the positive qualities and no negatives. Impossible right? Well, one day she stumbles into this man and he is the rudest person she has ever met! Of course they fall in love, but oh my goodness. The writing is beautiful and so is the character development!" Lucy hugged the book close to her chest, sighing at how special it was to her.

"Wow, that seems like quite a story," Juvia giggled. "Juvia will put it on her list to read..." She gave a nervous smile when her eyes fell on the giant pile of books beside them. "She doubts she will ever be able to read so many... Juvia is a slow reader..."

Lucy threw her head back and laughed. "You don't have to read them if you don't want to, I went overboard. Sorry, I just get so carried away when it comes to books. I just love them so much," She sighed dreamily.

She had received her love of books from her mother, who also had quite the passion for reading. Lucy remembered running up to her mother with a book in her hands and begging her to read it out loud. She remembered sitting on her mother's lap as she would listen to her narrate the story, giggling whenever she would use silly voices for the characters.

Realizing that she was spacing out, Lucy shook her head. She looked around at the mess that she and Juvia (mainly herself though) feeling slightly embarrassed. "Well... we should probably clean up, huh?" She laughed "Sorry we spent most of our time here... I really wanted to show you around Magnolia..."

"Juvia does not mind! She had fun with you," Juvia reassured her, setting a gentle hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Now let's pick up these books and head back to the apartment!"

* * *

Lucy hadn't realized how late it had it gotten, the sky was already dark and moon high in the sky by the time she noticed. She gave Erza, Levy, and Juvia frantic farewell before running out the door to go 'stargaze'. She hated lying to them, but last night had proved that they wouldn't ever believe her, and if they did... they would make her stop going to the clearing, stop seeing Natsu.

Which she didn't want to happen.

Natsu needed her. Other than Happy, she was his only friend!

Before running out of the apartment, Lucy had snatched a bag of chocolate chip cookies she and Juvia had baked earlier that day. She was also going to be taking advantage of their free time by teaching Juvia how to bake and cook while the bakery was being renovated. The first couple of batches had been complete disasters, Juvia had even managed to somehow set some of the cookies on fire, but eventually they had a good batch!

Making sure these were the good cookies, Lucy picked one from the bag and took a small bite of it. She closed her eyes at the sweet taste and took another bite. Natsu and Happy would definitely enjoy these, that was for sure.

Walking down the street, Lucy held the bag of cookies in one hand and the other was resting on the hilt of her sword. She carried around with her everywhere she went now. If that man was going to come back, she wanted to be ready. It was weirdfeeling it on her hip all the time, but she could get used to it.

She was much more aware of her surroundings. She wasn't sure if she would call it paranoia or extreme caution, probably both, but sometimes certain sounds would set her off and have her reaching for her sword. One time she nearly kicked a cat that had caused a couple of barrels to topple over.

She didn't care about the odd looks she recieved, she was doing what she could to keep herself safe. That's all that mattered.

Coming to the hill that led to the clearing, Lucy looked up at the sky. It was perfectly clear. The beauty of sky took her breath away and all she could do was stare. The stars gleamed down at her, imaginary lines that connected to constellations threaded together forming shapes.

She was about to sit down right where she was and watch the stars, but remembering that she was going to visit Natsu and Happy made her start walking again. She really did miss having nights to herself just to stargaze. She missed talking to them and her mother.

Her footsteps grew more and more hesitant as she neared the edge of the forest. She turned her head up towards the night sky and slowly lowered herself to the ground. She didn't care that her dress was getting soaked from the snow or that she would soon begin to freeze from it, all she cared about was talking to the stars.

Bringing her legs up close to her chest, Lucy set her chin on top of her knees. Tilting her head slightly she smiled, "It's been awhile, hasn't it?" She whispered, breath floating up into the air.

The stars glittered in reply and she felt a laugh stir in her chest.

She had missed this feeling. This wonderous feeling that would fill her to the very brim whenever she spoke to the night sky. It gave her hope, joy, love, and so many other wonderful emotions. It was as if the Earth would halt in its rotation, the stars, moon, and sky would smile down at her and speak with her.

She was so busy staring at the stars, muttering things below her breath, that she wasn't aware of the man walking in her direction. She didn't notice him until he was standing right beside her.

Lucy snapped her head to look up at him. Immediately she leaned back on her left arm and swung her leg out to kick the man off of his feet. As he fell, she stood up, unsheathed her sword and directed the point at his throat.

"Wh-whoa, whoa, Lucy! It's just me, Natsu!" The man lying flat on his back yelled, he crossed his eyes, blinking at her sword with a startled expression.

Heart racing, Lucy let loose a heavy breath. "I'm sorry," She whispered, sheathing her sword, " I didn't know it was you and... well assumed the worst, I guess."

"I-it's okay," Natsu gulped and sat up, "Just wasn't realy expecting to nearly lose my head is all." Lucy offered him a helping hand and he galdly took it, tugging himself up onto his feet. He brushed the snow off of his pants, letting the rest of it melt off of him. "So, did you come here to talk to the stars?"

"Ah, well... I came to see you and Happy, but..." Lucy's eyes looked up at the sky, shimmering at the sight of the stars scattered out against the black night. "I guess I just really miss talking to the stars," She shrugged, laughing softly.

"Hey, you don't have to visit Happy and I every single night, y'know," Natsu crossed his arms, "If you need time to yourself, or want to spend some time stargazing like you used to then go ahead."

Lucy nodded her head, trying her best not to grimace. She felt sort of guilty, she had promised she would spend time with the mand she nearly forgot. She hated breaking promises.

Seeing her discomfort, Natsu frantically wished to change the topic. He was about to spew a random thought out when he noticed the paper bag in her hand. His nose twitched when he smelled the chocolate chip cookies. Licking his lips, he pointed at the bag in her hand, "So, you brought us another treat?"

"Hm? Oh! Yeah, my friend and I made them. I'm teaching her to bake and this was the only successful batch we were able to make. They taste pretty okay," Lucy handed him the bag. "I hope you and Happy like them... I think... I want to stay here and stargaze." She whispered, turning her attention back to the night sky.

Natsu nodded his head, a small smile lifting on his lips. "Yeah, okay, Happy and I were planning on going fishing anyways."

"It's winter..." Lucy rose a brow, looking at him like he was an idiot.

"I can melt a hole in the ice for us to drop our line in, duh~" He scoffed, "Anyway, next time you come to spend time with us you'll have to explain how you learned to handle a sword."

Lucy turned bright red at sharing those embarrassing moments, but nodded anyway, "You're definitely going to get a laugh out of it, I'm shocked I didn't get seriously hurt," She laughed.

Natsu wanted to keep talking to her, but seeing that she had been distracted with the constellations and sky above he let her go back to stargazing. He hadn't lied about going fishing with Happy, he had just hoped that Lucy could have gone with them. He understood that he had been stealing her stargazing time, but that didn't stop him from wishing there was more time in that night for him and Lucy to waste time with sharing stories or sitting in comfortable silence together.

* * *

 **Happy Holidays everyone! I know you guys must be getting tired of my excuses for slow updates so I'll just stop giving them.**

 **Review responses!**

 **Happy-Go-Lucky4535 - Natsu only reacted to Gajeel's name like that because he liked Metal Porcupine better. Sorry for the confusion!**

 **Animallover - Aye! That is why didn't Lucy tell her friends. She didn't have Natsu's okay and she realized that~**

 **Ladyfire-Azula - Read and find out!**

 **FireShifter - Yes! There will be more to Natsu's past later on~~~ and I try to update as quickly as I can, school stresses me out and keeps me busy, unfortunately**

 **Thank you guys for being so patient! Leave a review if you liked this chapter~ :)**

 **OH AND I GOT ANOTHER IDEA FOR A FAIRY TAIL FANFIC. It's going to be titled Topsy Turvy, but that's all I'm giving away~ I'm super excited with it and can't wait to start writing it. I just need to finish outlining it ~**


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven.**

* * *

Lounging on the couch, book in hand, Plue asleep on her stomach, Lucy felt relaxed. She smiled as her eyes flicked back and forth, reading the familiar words of the book she had read numerous times. She'd read it enough that she had memorized some dialogue and description of certain things. Her favorite was the description of the woman's gown.

A yawn parted from her lips, giving her the urge to stretch her arms and lift her chest up as she decided to stretch her back as well. She ignored Plue's whine of complaint, peeking an eye open to watch the small dog flop onto her lap. She lazily drifted her hand down, scratching him just behind the ears while she continued to read.

"Oh, you do too love him! You just don't know it yet," Lucy giggled, talking to the character in her book. She would often speak her thoughts out loud, it was much more satisfying than just letting the thought repeat itself in her mind numerous times. Of course she had to learn how to hold her tongue when she read books in public places, she would get odd looks if she were to suddenly stomp her foot and yell at the pages of her novel in the library. That and she would be kicked out immediately.

The book she was reading was definitely a good (and yet very cliche) romance, one that she had recommended to her small circle of friends in Magnolia. Erza, Levy, and Mira had thoroughly enjoyed it, but Gray, Gajeel, Laxus, and Cana had politely refused. However, later on, Lucy had made a silly joke having to do with the two main characters and was shocked to hear Gajeel laugh at it. Turns out he had read it because Levy had asked him to.

She would have to see if Natsu would like it, but she didn't see him as the reading type. Nor the romantic one, either. In fact, now that Lucy was rereading the book, she was starting to see similarities between Natsu and main male character of her romance. Both were loud, obnoxious, and seemed to annoy their friend quite often. Neither had any knowledge of manners, but then again Lucy didn't really know much about Natsu so she couldn't tell if he actually did know of manners and just didn't want to use them, or if he didn't know manners existed.

Sighing, Lucy went back to reading, giggling to herself at parts she found amusing or rolling her eyes when she knew she was nearing a frustrating part. That was the one thing she hated about rereading books, having to go through the annoying parts all over again. She had to cringe and grimace her way through, it was the same with the heartbreaking scenes and dialogues, too.

That's what made books exciting, though! If a book was nothing but happiness and positive things it would get predictable and boring. A good book was one full of adventure, thrill, struggles, and heartbreaks. Of course her romance wasn't really full of adventure and thrill, but she always did feel a rush of energy flow through her whenever it seemed the two main characters would kiss. Not exactly the same thing, but enough to make her turn pages quickly, eyes flicking back and forth as she read.

She could feel herself falling into the pages of the book. She became distant to her reality and was soon diving head first into the book's world. Lucy felt as if she was walking with the characters, following them on their story of romance. They didn't even know they were falling love, but she did. The way they looked at one another was enough for her to know the two were madly in love. It was frustrating they didn't even know it, how could they be so blind to something so obvious?

Slowly closing the book and forcibly removing herself from the story, Lucy looked down at Plue. He had fallen asleep in her lap, his head resting on the top of her right thigh. She cooed softly, moving her hand to rub his ear. The dog gave a loud snort in response, kicking a leg out to stretch.

"It's nice to finally relax, isn't it?" Erza asked. Lucy's eyes darted over to look at the red headed woman who was sitting in one of the chairs on the other side of the coffee table. When had she joined her in the living room? "You were absorbed in your book, you didn't even hear me when I said good morning," Erza chuckled, moving forward to set down her cup of water.

"Oh, sorry," Lucy gave a sheepish smile, "Good morning!" She joked. Lucy turned her eyes back to the book in her hands, but seeing something from the corner of her eye her attention was cast to the coffee table. On top was the pile of letters from the day before, one was sitting at the corner closest to Erza. The envelope had been torn open, the letter was unfolded, pencil markings facing the ceiling. Lifting a brow, Lucy smiled smugly, "So, Jellal wrote back?"

At the mention of Jellal, Erza nearly jumped out of her seat. Her grip on her book tightened so much that it slammed shut, the loud sound echoed in the living room and caused Plue to jump up to his paws. The dog barked a loud warning, but realizing the sudden noise had come from the Erza on the other side of the room he lied back down, resting his muzzle on the top of his front paws.

"Uh, y-yes," Erza nodded her head, an embarrassed blush spreading across her cheeks. "He says he's going to be visiting for Christmas." Hearing this news, Lucy gasped. Jellal was going to visit? How exciting!

Jellal had visited before, but it was usually just a run through town. He was often out seeing the world with his friends Ultear and Meredy. Lucy had spoken with all three of them before, but she hadn't really been able to get to know them like she had wished. Of course she had written a few letters to Jellal here and there, sending it in with Erza's, she loved the conversations that she and Jellal could easily hold on paper. Hopefully it would be just as easy in person.

"That's great, Erza! Will Ultear and Meredy be with him?" Lucy asked, sitting up straight and accidentally knocking Plue to the ground.

"...No," Erza stared at the letter when she spoke, "He said they were going to visit another group of friends... He also explained why, it's because he has something important he wants to talk about with me." By the end of her sentence, Erza's face was as red as her hair, maybe even more.

Clapping her hands together, Lucy giggled. Oh, this was going to be marvelous! Jellal had never visited Erza alone before, Ultear and Meredy had always been with him. While she knew that Erza was also great friends with Jellal's two companions, Lucy was able to tell that Erza was wishing for some time together with Jellal... alone. To try and get this alone time, Erza would often invite Gray over to entertain Ultear and Meredy, because the three of them had a past, childhood friends if Lucy remembered correctly.

She wondered if the Erza and Jella would go on any dates, it was obvious they had something going on, Lucy could tell from the way Erza would blush when she'd receive a letter from Jellal. Lucy was sure everyone could tell that Erza and Jellal were falling in love, save for Gajeel and Gray because though two were blind as bats when it came to things like this. Even though Lucy was definite the two, Erza and Jellal, would make a good pairing, she knew they had a rocky past together. She didn't know all the details about it, though.

Jellal had been an assassin and a thief, Erza had been on the royal guard. One night Jellal had been assigned to target someone who worked in the castle. Erza had stopped him, but had barely survived the aftermath of the fight. Jellal was a very skilled fighter and left Erza with many wounds. Jellal had fled, planning to come back another time when Erza wasn't on her shift to guard that specific area, but he could find the opening. Finally he confronted her, they fought again only that time Erza was the one who had claimed victory. Jellal had expected her to kill him, it was what he deserved, but instead she showed him mercy.

She let him go.

He hadn't been the same after that, is what Erza told her.

She would occasionally see Jellal in the city surrounding the castle when she was enjoying her time off from guard duty. She never once made to a move to try and talk to him, though. They had only started talking once after they had bumped into each other at a bar and gotten ridiculously drunk. Turns out they were both angry drunks and had many frustrations to get off their chests about one another. Erza had yelled at him for annoying her and sending the castle on a paranoid frenzy, Jellal had shouted at her for being the cause of him losing his job. They got kicked out of the bar for being too noisy and so they continued to walk down the streets yelling at each other over and over again how the other made their job difficult or no longer existent.

Erza had drunkenly stumbled all the way home, Jellal shuffled after her. When she reached her door, she turned around to shoo him away but he decided he wasn't done giving her an earful. So, Erza kindly sat down on the steps of her porch and let Jellal ramble all off his frustrations. Eventually the both of them passed out and woke up very confused and hungover.

Okay so maybe Lucy did know all of the details.

Whenever Erza told that story, Lucy sometimes found it hard to believe. It just sounded so out of character for them. More so for Jellal than Erza.

Lucy didn't know how to describe that story, but it was definitely something. In fact, Lucy felt like her and Gray's way of meeting up was rather normal compared to Erza and Jellal. She wasn't about to get too deep into thinking about it, though. She always wondered what it was that made Erza let Jellal go, though.

"Did he say what it was?" Lucy asked, "What could be so important that he has to save it until he sees you in person?" She smiled, leaning forward a bit to give Erza a smug look. Lucy already had her ideas, but she wasn't about to embarrass Erza any further.

"No, but he said it is very serious. Something to do with the lost prince."

Lucy's fun attitude drained instantly.

The lost prince?

Letting out a heavy sigh, Lucy shook her head. "I thought... I thought the king had declared him... dead... since the prince has been missing for seven years?"

"Well, he did, but... recently there's been rumors going about that they may have discovered his whereabouts." Erza explained.

Lucy could feel excitement bubbling up inside her. The lost prince had been a very bad thing to discuss ever since the he went missing. Nobody knows why he went missing either. One day the king had sent his men out searching for his son, but when they returned with no sign or evidence of the child being alive the king grew quiet and locked himself up in his castle. To this day nobody in Fiore knew if the king had stepped even one foot out of his castle since.

So, Lucy hoped, maybe this would bring the king back out so he could be more active with his people and caring of his kingdom.

"Well, I hope they turn out to be true," Lucy smiled, until then she would have to assume they are rumors. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It wasn't fun to live by those rules, but it was something she had trained herself to get used to. "Anyways, if Jellal is going to be visiting, you'd better reserve a room for him in the hotel down the street and the four us had better get this apartment ready."

Erza laughed at this, eyes gleaming in amusement, "Lucy, that's something only a mother would say, but you are right. Even if the apartment isn't in terrible shape it wouldn't hurt to straighten things up around here," Standing up, Erza stretched her arms above her head. "I'm heading out to get some stock up on our food, Jellal may not be here for a few more weeks, but it's best to be prepared. He's not good with deadlines, sometimes he shows up early, sometimes he shows up late."

Nodding her head, Lucy stood up as well. She decided she'd tidy up while Erza went to the market.

* * *

Lucy had finished sweeping up the kitchen floor when Juvia had walked through the front door. She greeted her friend with a small smile, setting the broom aside as she made her way into the living room to open up her book and pick up where she had left off. She wanted to tell Juvia of Jellal's visit, but decided that was Erza's news to tell.

The more she read, the more connections she was making with Natsu and the male interest of the romance novel. It was such a big coincidence, Lucy just had to tell Natsu about it. She couldn't wait to see what he was going to think of it, even if he turned out to not enjoy books like herself he would still have to accept that he and the main male character were almost exactly alike. Silently, Lucy wondered if she was similar to any of the characters but brushed it off, it couldn't that big of a coincidence. There was no way.

Then again... she also had nearly impossible expectations for her dream man. That realization alone brought along some... odd thoughts. Was hers and Natsu's friendship going just like the one in her romance novel? No, that couldn't be. She was just being paranoid.

And a hopeless romantic.

But why would she be a hopeless romantic when it came to Natsu? She was most definitely not interested in that. Even though she did enjoy his company, making him laugh, and smile. She loved bringing him snacks just to see him gasp in excitement and watch his eyes light up as he snatched the food from the bag. Stargazing was another thing that she adored doing with Natsu, even if she did need last night to herself she still liked teaching Natsu constellations.

With a cough, Lucy forced herself to pay attention to her book and not the pink haired man. Even if his dark green eyes always looked at her with a kindness which felt different from the kindness she received from her friends, or the big cheeky grins he'd beam when he was being silly.

She slammed her book shut, her face burning hot. Just where in the world were these thoughts coming from? Surely the book was to blame, Lucy scowled at the culprit in her hands. Why in the world was it making her think of things like that with her friend Natsu. That was absolutely not how friends thought of one another. Curse her guilty pleasure for cliche romances.

Did she really want to share the book with Natsu if it was causing her to think of him in such a way? What if it caused him to think of Lucy like that? That would be... more than weird. That would be down right bizarre. Natsu was cursed dragon with no known way of breaking the spell.

Wait.

How _would_ they break the spell? Natsu told her it was a curse, there had to be a way to break it, right? She knew that whenever he shifted from either form it was very painful. Her stomach churned at that, she didn't want Natsu to suffer. She wanted him to be happy, she wanted him to be able to go to sleep at night and walk around during the day. She wanted him to meet her friends, even if that wouldn't ever go very well. Lucy wanted Natsu to live and have fun and just enjoy life. She didn't want him to sit in his cave, waiting for the sun to set and the moon to rise.

She wanted to find the man responsible for cursing her friend and give him a well deserved Lucy-Kick and much more. In the mean time she would have to think of ways to save Natsu from this curse.

If she were to go down with a cliche fairy tale story type plan, then Lucy knew true love's first kiss would be the answer, but this was not a fairy tale. This was very real. She couldn't treat it like some fantasy. (Besides they weren't even in love.) Things wouldn't be that easy anyway, if anything it would be something complicated like in order to break the curse the one who cast the spell has to be killed or some potion with the rarest ingredients in the world.

And just how would she explain to her friends that she was going on an assassination mission, or that she was going to travel the world for some rare flower that most likely doesn't even exist?

Groaning, Lucy lowered the book to rest on her forehead. She just wanted Natsu to be happy and she knew that wasn't possible while he was still living with the curse.

She was honestly still trying to wrap her head around the fact that someone had something against Natsu. What could he have possibly done? There had to be more to it than just killing the last dragon.

And... how come she'd never heard of this before? She'd lived in Magnolia for three years and she'd never once heard the story of the cursed dragon. Ever. Not even up in Konzern. For Natsu to kill that last dragon to ever exist... that was pretty big, so shouldn't he be famous for that? Shouldn't there be huge search parties going around looking for him, or wanted fliers posted around with his face on it? Lucy knew he wasn't a criminal, but to kill the last dragon...

That was something _the entire world_ would hear about.

Things just weren't adding up.

She would have to talk to Natsu, straighten things out. Even though he had made it clear he wasn't comfortable with talking about it... she didn't want to push him, but if she was going to try and help him then he'd have to talk to her.

Shaking her head and causing the book to slide between her head and the cushion of the couch, Lucy decided she would wait for Natsu to open up about that topic. She didn't want to push him so much that he started to push her back, push her away until their friendship was at risk.

Besides, she wasn't even sure if Natsu wanted her help with this curse or not.

Well, either way she was going to try and fix this whether he liked it or not. He'd saved her twice and it was about time she started giving back that help.

* * *

 **WHAT'S THIS? AN UPDATE? WHOA!**

 **sorryaboutthewholehiatusthing. I had a MASSIVE case of writer's block on this fic and no matter what I wrote it didn't work, fit, or feel right. I'm taking it off of hiatus and I"m going to _try_ (please notice the word _try_ ) to get some sort of schedule on updating this. I feel ridiculous for not updating this for so long, I'm sorry.**

 **As always, please leave a review! They help me know what you guys think of my work and they help encourage me. I love seeing your comments, they really do make me smile!**

 **Until next time~**


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve.**

Lucy laughed as she watched Natsu chase after Happy, the blue cat had swiped one of Natsu's snacks and was holding it high above his head just barely out of reach. Lucy clapped a hand over her mouth to hold back a loud snort when Natsu tripped over a rock and face planted into the dirt. She couldn't help but throw her head back and fall over in a fit of uncontrollable laughter when Happy dropped the bag of cookies on his head. Natsu seemed to find it quite amusing as well, when he lifted his head up he had a huge grin on his face and laughter started spilling from his lips, too.

Happy, distracted by his own laughter wasn't aware of Natsu moving around below him. He noticed right when the man grabbed his tail and yanked him down into his arms. The feline let out a shocked yowl when Natsu hugged him close to his chest.

"Pay back for stealing my snacks!" Natsu cackled, it was cut short with a yelp when Happy bit him too hard. Natsu shook his hand and glared at the cat, "Was that necessary?"

"Sorry, Natsu," Happy mewed and flew up to sit on the man's shoulder. "Lucy, thanks for the cookies. They're really good. June is getting really good a baking!"

" _Juvia_ , Happy. My friend's name is Juvia. Goodness you two are horrible with names," Lucy scrunched her nose up. June wasn't very close to Juvia, how he gotten those mixed would forever be a mystery.

She tipped her head back and looked up at the night sky, lips curling up into a relaxed smile. There were no clouds in sight. The weather had been clear for the whole day and even though it was still pretty cold, Lucy wasn't freezing at all. Whether it was the fire Natsu had set up, or the fact that he was so naturally warm she was sure.

Lucy had figured it was due to his curse, his dragon form gave him the gift of fire. She remembered when she'd first met him he had started a fire by just twirling a flame from his finger tips. That was how he had started the fire in the little clearing in front of his cave, too. A small wave of his hand and fire had danced to life.

"Does the fire come from you being a dragon?" Lucy thought out loud, eyes widening when she realized she'd actually said that. She bit her lip, hoping it wasn't a question that Natsu was sensitive about, she still wasn't sure what was safe to talk to Natsu about and what wasn't.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I was terrified when I first discovered it, took me forever to learn how to control the flames. I have a permanent fire in my belly," He winked, which made Lucy's stomach do a weird flip she couldn't quite understand.

On his shoulder, Happy groaned, "That joke is horrible and needs to die. You've told it too many times."

"It's a good one!" Natsu defended, "You thought it was pretty great, too."

"Yeah, but then you kept repeating it and repeating it and repeating it and repeating it and- AAH!" Happy cut off his sentence with a loud yell as Natsu shoved him off his shoulder. The tomcat spread his wings and flew up, landing on a branch high above the ground. He locked eyes with Natsu, stuck his tongue out and hissed.

Lucy rolled her eyes, they acted no better than a child. _'That's what makes hanging out with them so fun, though,'_ Lucy thought to herself. A smile spread on her lips as she watched Natsu jump at the tree branch Happy sat on, giggling when he couldn't reach. The branch was a little too high for him, he could probably reach it if he really put his mind to it, but Lucy knew that since he was only fooling around he wouldn't be able to grab hold of it. She was too busy laughing at his failed efforts to get up and give him a helping hand, besides Happy hadn't done anything to irritate her just yet so she was fine with letting the two horse around.

Stretching her arms above her head, Lucy got her feet. She patted the hilt of her sword, it rested against her hip safe in her sheath and remembered Natsu had asked her to tell her how she'd learned to handle the weapon. She was proud of the fact that she'd learned to how to use a sword and defend herself with it in just a few years, Erza had told her that it took some people a lot longer than three years. Of course there were still moves that were much too skilled for Lucy to do, but she was good enough to hold herself in a battle.

Casting a worried gaze on her friend, she wondered if she'd have to do any fighting for Natsu. He would be able to fight, too, obviously, but she was still so lost when it came to the cursed man. She knew why he'd been cursed, he had fought a dragon, but there had to be more than just that. If she wanted to free him of his curse she knew there was most likely going to be some fighting.

She also knew that she'd have to get some help from her friends... the thought of that made her cringe. She knew they'd never believe her and if they did would they react the way she wanted? Would they acknowledge that Natsu wasn't actually a dangerous dragon who ate anybody who got close to his cave or would they tell Lucy that she was to never go to the clearing alone again. She hoped for the former, but knew it'd be the latter.

"What're you frowning about?" Natsu asked, bringing Lucy out of her troubling thoughts by poking her cheek.

"Stop that," She batted his hand away, rubbing her cheek and glaring at him when he snickered. "I'm not frowning about anything, I just spaced out." Not a total lie, she had definitely gotten lost in thought about how she was going to get herself out of this hole she dug.

Natsu narrowed his eyes and leaned forward until his face was inches from hers, "I don't believe you," he grunted. He crossed his arms over his chest and lifted a brow at her. "Something's bothering you," he stated, staring at her until Lucy couldn't take it anymore.

A blush spread across her cheeks as she looked away, clearing her throat with a soft cough she whispered, "I'm worried about you."

Hearing this, Happy glided down from his tree branch and landed on Lucy's shoulder, Natsu's eyes widened. Lucy... worried about _him_? Why was she worried? He hadn't done anything to make her worry, had he? He scratched the back of his neck, casting his eyes on the ground before lifting them to meet Lucy's again. Why would someone like her care about a man like him? He just couldn't comprehend that, he understood that they were friends, but to actually see her get lost in thought over her concerns about _him_...

"Why?" Natsu blurted out, tilting his head to the side as he stared at her a little bewildered, "Why are you worried about me?"

Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing, _why was she worried?_ Where did she even begin to explain!? The fact that someone had cursed him, that he had to fight a dragon, the fact that his failures had caused grief he wasn't comfortable talking about, the fact he lived in a _cave_ of all places because he couldn't go out in the open worried about what people would do to him. There were some many reasons for her to be worried about him. She was also worried about him because there was so much that she didn't know about him, either he couldn't talk about certain things or he just didn't want to tell her.

Taking a step back she shook her head, "Why am I worried?" she repeated his question. She laughed, even though the situation at hand wasn't hilarious in the least bit. "Well, for starters, someone has so much against you they... they cursed you!" She ran a hand through her hair, unable to finish her thoughts, she really didn't know how else to speak her mind without saying too much.

Natsu sighed, "You don't have to worry about me, Luce. You-

"But I _do_ , Natsu!" Lucy interrupted him, "You're my friend, and just like I worry about you, I worry about Erza, Levy, Gajeel, Gray, Juvia, Cana, and all of my friends. Happy, too," She let out an exasperated breath, "I want to help you, I want to break the curse."

Everything around Natsu froze, his breath hitched in his throat, his heart skipped a beat. A fluttering feeling started in his stomach and sent shivers up his spine. Lucy wanted to break the curse, Lucy wanted to set him free. Taking a step back, Natsu's hands automatically grabbed hold of his scarf. The fire he had lit earlier, illuminated the clearing in a warm glow, the same warmth he felt growing his chest.

A warmth he hadn't felt in a very, very long time.

However, he was still paranoid. "If you do try to help me, you may end up getting cursed too... or worse." Natsu muttered, swallowing the lump in his throat that had begun to form. "The people that you're wanting to go up against... you don't know them like I do, they're merciless. They're not afraid to kill someone. They don't care about consequences."

Lucy wasn't sure how to react to the way Natsu was acting, he... seemed scared. Which wasn't very Natsu to her, she had thought he'd be the type to go around boasting about taking everyone down, trying to start a fight at all times. Seeing him turn pale when speaking about... the people she was wanting to go up against, made her a little scared. Just who were these people? Why were they able to spark such a reaction in Natsu?

"Natsu? Are you okay?" Lucy leaned forward and layed her hand on his that was gripping his scarf. He was clutching it so tightly his knuckles had turned white. She turned her concerned gaze to Happy who looked down at the ground, a sure sign that whatever was affecting Natsu was something he was not comfortable talking about. Which only made her concern deepen.

Looking down at Lucy's hand, Natsu slowly nodded his head, "Just promise me that if you plan on confronting them you'll let me know. I want to fight beside you. It won't be just you protecting me, or me protecting you. It'll be us protecting each other."

Silence fell between them and before Lucy could think of anything to say, Happy beat her to it.

"That was _so_ cheesy!" Happy snorted, "You _liiiiike_ her, don't you? I've heard some cheesy lines from you before, Natsu, but that one beats them all!" The cat rocked back and forth, paws over his stomach laughing uncontrollably.

Natsu and Lucy both stared at the cat, irritated that he had laughed at such an inappropriate time. Lucy couldn't deny that she was a little relieved, though, she wasn't sure how she'd be able to lighten the mood. Knowing her, she would have made it even worse by saying something to bring the mood down even further. She couldn't help the little smirk that lifted the corner of her lips, nor the light blush that spread on her cheeks.

"Wha-" Natsu sputtered, " 'Course I do, Lucy's my friend! She's yours, too, Happy! So you obviously like her, too!"

That comment alone was able to start Lucy's fit of giggles, she smacked a hand to her mouth when Happy deadpanned, "That's not what I meant, dummy."

She could always leave to her two favorite idiots to lift her spirits.

* * *

After everyone had calmed down and Happy had stopped his teasing, they had decided to tend to the fire which had started to grow smaller and smaller and was on the brink of going out. Natsu easily gave it more fire and Lucy tossed more firewood on it. Wiping her hands, she watched Happy fly around the clearing, spinning around Natsu a few times and doing a few flips here and there. The wings on the cat's back were beautiful, the curious part of her wondered what magical animal he might be.

"So, Happy, are there other cats like you?" Lucy wondered, sitting back down in her spot in front of the cozy fire.

"Nope! I'm the only one," Happy chirped, padding over to curl up beside her. "I couldn't always talk, and I didn't always have wings, either.."

"Really? Then... how exactly did that happen?" Lucy rose a brow, reaching down to gently touch one of Happy's wings. The cat flinched at first, but relaxed into her touch, purring when she moved her hand to scratch the top of his head.

"Natsu wished really, really hard."

Hand frozen in place, Lucy lifted her head to look at Natsu, he was trying to make it look like he hadn't been paying attention, but it was obvious that he had heard. Feeling her eyes on him, Natsu shrugged his shoulders. His own way of confirming that what Happy said was true... which rose another question, just what had he wished for, exactly?

Before Lucy could ask him, Natsu was sitting down beside her, beginning to explain the story he knew she wanted to hear. "It was went I had just recently been cursed. I was still getting used to shape shifting into a dragon and then back to a man, I was scared and lonely. I had found this cave in the middle of the woods and decided to make it my home, but even with a permanent fire in my belly, sometimes I got cold sitting all by myself in this big, empty space. To pass the time, I would make a list of things to wish for. I would say them out loud, too.

"I wish I wasn't cursed, I wish I wasn't lonely, I wish I could go back home, I wish I hadn't tried to fight back. I made so many wishes that I lost count. One night, when I was fishing for my dinner, a blue cat crept up and curled up beside me. It was the first time a strange animal had approached me, I had encountered some wild animals before, but the fact that one of them was willing to get so close was odd. So, I decided to start talking to it, not caring that it couldn't understand me. That blue cat, of course, was Happy, he just hadn't been named that yet." Natsu smiled, reaching down to scratch one of Happy's ears.

Lucy looked down at Happy, it was hard to imaging him as a regular cat, no wings, not being able to speak english. She also couldn't believe that there was a point in time that Natsu and Happy hadn't been friends. She had just assumed that Natsu had found Happy when he was a small boy, or they had at least been friends ever since Natsu was young and Happy a kitten. That's how it had been for her and Plue, her father had surprised with the white pup for her birthday.

Taking in a deep breath, Natsu continued, "It went on like that for awhile, I would sit at the lake a little far off from my cave, wait for the blue cat to arrive and talk to him. One night, I started listing my wishes again, just because it had become a habit. I said, "I wish you could talk, then we could be friends. It would be nice if you could fly as well, we could travel the night skies together and go on our own adventures!" even though I'm a dragon during the day, I can't really go around flying in broad daylight. I would scare the townspeople and only cause trouble, so I never really got to experience the bliss of flight.

"Anyways, I was about to go back to fishing, when I noticed that the blue cat had started to glow. Not only glow, but he was being lifted up into the air. This startled both of us, the cat started yowling and I started to panic. I had never seen a cat glow or levitate, I had no idea what to do. I was about to jump and snatch him, afraid that he was just going to float away and be gone forever, when the glowing stopped and he slowly descended to the ground again. When he looked up at me, the first thing he said was "You sure talk a lot." and that was that," Natsu clapped his hands once, flashing Lucy a big smile, "After that Happy and I became best buds!"

"So, you just totally accepted the existence of a talking and flying cat." Lucy blanched, she shouldn't have been surprised, this was Natsu after all.

"Well, yes, I mean... I'm a man who shape shifts into a dragon everyday. A talking and flying cat didn't really faze me," Natsu shrugged. He said it like that was the obvious answer, Happy even nodded his head.

Lucy rolled her eyes, she supposed it would have been the same way with her. It was a bittersweet story, happy and yet sad at the same time. Natsu had been lonely, sad, and scared, all he had wanted was a friend. He had grown so desperate to talk to someone he was fine with talking to a cat, an animal that normally wouldn't be capable of carrying on a normal conversation. Then, he had wished with all his heart and gained a friend.

"I didn't know that wishes could actually come true, I thought it was just something children did for fun..." Lucy whispered her thoughts out loud. Then again, her wish for her father to acknowledge and care about her again had come true when she was younger. She had wished with all her heart, too. She just hadn't experienced the glowing or levitating like Natsu and Happy had.

"Yeah, that's what I thought for the longest time, too. When I was cursed, though... I thought maybe a wish could somehow help break it," He shrugged, voice trailing off as he started to get a little embarrassed about the whole wishing topic, he tucked his chin into his scarf and muttered something under his breath.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you," Lucy explained, wondering what he had said

Natsu wouldn't tell her though, he shook his head and stared at the fire, not willing to make eye contact.

Lucy rolled her eyes and leaned back on her hands, she decided she'd let it go for now. Trying to hold back a yawn, Lucy muttered, "That reminds me, I promised to tell you how I learned to handle a sword, right?"

This got both Happy and Natsu excited, they both whipped their heads in her direction, their eyes wide and full of curiosity. However, when she hid another yawn behind her hand, Natsu shook his head. "It's getting late, you should get home."

"But what-

"You can tell us tomorrow night, right? We can make this a regular thing, sharing stories around the campfire." Natsu propose, holding is arms out and giving her big smile.

Beside him, Happy snickered, "There you go being cliche, again."

"Shut up."

Lucy stood up, patting Happy's head and then Natsu's shoulder as she stretched her arms above her head, "No matter how cliche it is, I think it would be fun! We can get to being better friends at the same time, too." She couldn't wait to visit them again, she really had wanted to tell them how she'd learned to use her sword. Patting said weapon on her hip, Lucy started walking back towards town, "See you two tomorrow," she promised with a wave over her shoulder.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter~ I had it planned out for awhile, writing it was just kinda awkward and I just couldn't get it right. Anyways, I really am going to try picking up a schedule, I don't like leaving you guys hanging for a month or sometimes even longer. I'll start working on next chapters directly after I post one and continue working on it throughout the week. _Hopefully_ , I'll have another chapter posted next Saturday...**

 **Remember to review! They really do help, I'm going to start answering them, too. I've always meant to answer them it's just sometimes I get caught up with posting the next chapter that I forget. Anyways I'll answer the guest reviews here! :)**

 **No one specialD - Oh wow, really? Thank you! I don't really plan on making this an original story, but the fact that it has the potential means a lot to me~ I don't ever plan to stop writing so you shouldn't have to worry about that, I actually have other fanfics that I want to work on in the future! thank you for reviewing, I really glad you like this fic!**

 **brooke315 - Yes, I'm back... again ehe. Yeah I have a huge problem with writer's block... that and I get distracted very, _very_ easily. So, I apologize about taking so long to update ; ;**

 **Guest - Don't worry, there will be plenty of updates in the near future! I am going to start making myself write way more so that I can update quicker and get more fics started!**

 **Magica love - Like I said before, I don't plan on stopping :)**

 **OH! Also, I have made a wattpad account where I'll be posting some original stories! My username on there is firedragon-writer, so if you are interested in seeing me write some of my own stories, then please go check that out! I hope you guys have a lovely weekend, and please leave a review!**


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen.**

* * *

Shopping was always fun for Lucy, she had decided to go Christmas shopping again, the holiday was getting closer and closer with each passing day. Already it was only two weeks away. Not only did that mean her trip to her father was coming up, but Jellal was going to arrive soon as well, and that Gray would probably be leaving soon.

The reason why Gray was going to be leaving soon was because every year in the middle of December, the king threw a winter ball. Gray was always invited to it, because the king loved Gray's ice sculptures.

Jellal had sent another letter the other day, telling them he would hopefully arrive a week before Christmas. Also mentioning that what he needed to talk Erza about was something urgent. It made Lucy worry, had something happened? So many things were running through her head, she didn't know Jellal very well, but he still counted as a friend to her. If something were to happen to him, Lucy would be very concerned.

Still she was excited that Jella was going to visit for Christmas, even if it added one more present onto her list of gifts for her friends. A new book for Levy, polish for Erza's swords, gardening tools for Juvia since Lucy knew the woman was interested in starting a flowerbed, for Gray a set of new tools for him to use for his sculptures, she wasn't quite sure what she was going to get Gajeel, but the man had been showing some interest in music so maybe she could find some sheet music for him. She planned on getting a gift for Natsu, and Happy, too! She just wasn't sure exactly what yet.

She knew getting fish for Happy was the obvious way to go, but she wasn't sure for Natsu. At first she thought of getting him a new scarf, then remembering how much the one he always wore meant to him made her scratch that idea. He had mentioned his father had made that scarf for him, she didn't want to bother getting him a new one when he already had one that meant everything to him. Maybe she could just ask him what his favorite snack was and make it for him, but she really wanted to do something big.

She sighed and shook her head, she'd have to think of gift ideas later. She was spending too much time in thought, as usual. She'd stood in the same spot for so long that she could feel the clerk at the front of the shop staring at her, wondering what she was up to or if she was okay. Her cheeks turned red, a little embarrassed that she had lost her train of thought in the middle of the store.

Clearing her throat she put the dress that she had been holding for the past five minutes back where it had initially been hanging. She was wanting to get Cana a cute outfit, but knowing the woman's habit of dress she decided against it, the woman would want something that showed off her body in some sort of fashion. With a snort she couldn't help but wonder if Gray would want something similar as well, considering his habit to strip and show skin. Maybe, she thought continuing her amusing scenario, he would wear a show-y type dress to the winter ball.

Brushing a stray hair behind her ear, Lucy walked out of the dress shop and tugged her coat tight around her shoulders. The winter wind was bitterly cold, Lucy was usually able to endure it considering Konzern had freezing winters, too, but this cold wind was something else entirely. Not many people were running about and playing in the snow as usually, if they were outside they were rushing to get to their destination to get warm once again.

Lucy wasn't sure what she was going to do for her free time, if it weren't freezing she would stroll around town, let her mind wander. There were things she needed to straighten out, mysteries to unfold. Letting her arm swing down by her side, Lucy's hand brushed against the hilt, she had to be on alert at all times of the day.

Nearing her bakery, Lucy shivered and it wasn't just because of the cold. Bad memories swelled her mind, the night when she had been captured retold itself in front of her eyes. She had been running, terrified, heart pounding. The bakery was the only safe place because she didn't want to lead the stranger to her home. When Laxus approached, she thought it had been him, but no it had been someone else entirely.

Her thoughts then turned to the nightmares that had haunted her that day and the few nights after that, it was the same one over and over again. Waking up in a strange cave, the sound of footsteps, and then the strange man who had captured her grabbed her hand and dragged her even deeper into the cave, asking questions about Natsu. Even though that wasn't how it had happened at all which worried her. Yes, she had woken up in a strange cave, but she had been able to escape, fight her way out, and run to safety. There hadn't been bones littered around or, dare she say, decorating that cave, either. Then again, she hadn't really been paying that much attention to her surroundings, she had been too terrified and focused on finding a way out to bother dwelling in the details and however they decorated that cave.

Whoever 'they' were.

She grumbled, irritated with how little she knew! She needed to know more about Natsu if she was going to help him, she knew that there were topics that he was rather touchy with, but it was starting to get frustrating. She wouldn't be able to break his curse if he kept his past a secret! He would have to eventually open up to her.

A week ago, when they had promised to tell each other stories about each from when they were little or even recent, she thought that meant she was going to learn about his past. Unfortunately, no. Natsu had been careful to be vague about the people in his stories from when he was a kid, and whenever Lucy would ask him to describe the setting he would shrug and lie "I don't remember much of it." She knew it was a lie because when Natsu lied he would get a guilty shine in his eyes and avoid eye contact for a good few minutes.

She felt as though he didn't trust her, but knew that most likely was not the case. He was probably trying to keep her from snooping around too much and getting herself in trouble. But... she thought she had made it clear that she was going to break his curse and she thought he had made it clear that he would stand by her side!

Crossing her arms over her chest, Lucy huffed, "I suppose I stand corrected, then." Angry tears lined her eyes and she shook her head. Why in the world was she getting so worked up!? She would easily be able to straighten it out with Natsu when she visited him, there was no reason to get so angry that she brought herself to tears. And just because Natsu wasn't willing to fully open up to her yet didn't mean he wasn't going to stand by her side. She was confident that if she were to get into a fight, Natsu would be there fighting with her.

Lucy sighed, she had a bad habit of letting herself get carried away with her thoughts. Humming a cheery tune, she tried to give herself positive vibes as she turned onto Strawberry Street. However she didn't turn to walk up the front steps to the apartment she shared with some friends, she instead kept walking down the street. It was time for her to get her arm checked again, hopefully it was healed enough so that she could start practicing with her friends again. It had been too long since she'd had a match with Gray, she hoped it wasn't so long that he would be able to beat her.

Politely knocking on the door, Lucy stepped inside the healers' building, the bell above the door jingled, signaling the two ladies that they had a patient waiting. It was warm and cozy inside, so warm that Lucy decided to go ahead and shed her coat and hang it on one of the hooks by the door.

"Oh, Lucy, you're back," Wendy greeted with a bright smile, "Come with me and I can check your arm. It should be fine by now, has it been bothering you?"

Lucy shook her head, "It only bothered me when it had been recent. I barely notice it now, I'm only reminded of it when I see the bandages."

"That's good to hear," Wendy replied, leading the blonde into a room for check ups, "Just sit on the stool over there."

Lucy did as she was told, finding it a little amusing to be following the commands of girl much younger than her. It was impressive to see the blue haired girl be such a successful healer at a young age. Lucy wasn't sure when Wendy had started her practice in medicine, but it had to be awhile ago considering the girl was able to have her own patients without needing much help from Porlyusica. The only time Wendy needed help was when they had to tend to serious injuries or illnesses.

Holding her arm out for Wendy, Lucy watched as Wendy held her upper arm and gently twisted at the skin, leaning down to peer at it closely, applying pressure to parts that had once been sore. When Lucy showed no painful reaction, Wendy scribbled something down in her notes and went back to her procedure, sometimes humming to herself or sticking her tongue out in concentration.

"Well, the wound is healed nice," Wendy clapped her hands together when she stood up straight, "I just need you to do a few exercises for me. I want to make sure the muscles aren't badly damaged."

The words 'badly damaged' scared Lucy, she didn't like the sound of them together at all. What if her arm was badly damaged? She wouldn't be able to use her sword or practice hand-to-hand combat with her friends! Would she even be able to work in the bakery? What if-

She quickly stopped herself from thinking of anymore worst case scenarios and assured herself that her arm was going to be just fine. She had been a little too active when it was healing and it hadn't caused her too many problems, when it did she applied the medicine that Wendy have given her and some ice as well and then she was fine.

She followed Wendy's instructions, stretching her arm this way and that, lifting some heavy objects over her head or simply carried it around for a little build. Wendy then had her swing some punches and when se didn't show any signs of pain, Lucy started to feel more and more hopeful.

"Lucy, your arm is perfectly fine now!" Wendy exclaimed, writing notes on a sheet of paper, "You shouldn't have to worry about much pain, just don't push yourself too far and you should be all right."

Lucy stiffened, "...And if I push myself too far?"

"Oh, it's always dangerous to over exert yourself, I was just saying that because I know you regularly exercise," Wendy waved her hand dismissively, "Sorry if I startled you, Lucy, try not to worry about it."

Lucy nodded her head, "So, how much do I owe? I still have to pay for my last visit don't I?"

"Yes, but don't worry about this visit, you didn't need any medicine or bandages! Your last visit is a total of 15000 Jewel," Wendy told her.

Nodding her head, Lucy promised to pay within the next few days, she didn't go around carrying that much Jewel in her pocket! Besides, Wendy and Porlyusica usually let people pay at their own pace, they understood that not everyone in Magnolia was rich and even if they were they let the patient pay whenever they could. However, if the tab started building up too high that's when they started to get strict.

As Lucy stood up and stretched her arm, she craned her neck to get a good look at it, and of course there was a scar. Three jagged lines curved along her arm, making themselves obvious with their pale pink color against her white skin. She wasn't sure how to feel about bearing a scar, should she feel proud or should she feel upset? Proud because it was a sign that she fought, or upset because her skin would forever be marred?

She decided to go with proud, she knew her father wouldn't approve of it, but his reaction wouldn't be anger or disappointment, it just be concern for his daughter. Then, Lucy was sure, that he would embrace her, pat her shoulder, and say something a long the lines of "I'm sure the other fellow had it much worse!" or "I'm just glad you're okay."

Thinking of her father reminded she needed to reply to her father's recent letter, it had arrived just a day ago and he had been asking when she was planning to visit for Christmas. She was planning on going the week of, yes she wanted to spend Christmas with her friends in Magnolia, but her father was very dear to her and missing even one Christmas wouldn't feel right. She would just celebrate an early Christmas with her friends.

Bidding farewell to Wendy, Lucy shrugged her coat on and stepped outside into the freezing December wind. She shivered as she felt goosebumps crawl up her arms, the degrees had to have severely dropped while she'd been at The Sky Healers. Tugging her coat tight around her shoulders, Lucy started her trek home, thankfully it wasn't too far.

* * *

Kicking the door shut behind her, Lucy shook the snowflakes out of her hair and off her shoulders. Shedding her coat she hung it on the coat rack by the door and stepped into the kitchen, checking the table for any letters. When there wasn't any she checked the livingroom, but still there was none.

Confused by the lack of letters, Lucy went upstairs to see if any of her roommates had left any of it on her desk, assuming they'd placed the letters for them in their own rooms. Seeing a letter waiting for her on her desk by her stack of papers, Lucy sat down, reaching down to pet Plue when the dog raced up and jumped into her lap.

The hand writing didn't look familiar at all, it wasn't her father's or anyone else that she could think of, could the mailboy been mistaken? It wouldn't have been the first time, he had once given her the neighbor's mail.

Flipping the envelope onto its back, Lucy gasped and dropped the letter in shock. Her hands started to shake and she couldn't believe what she was staring at.

The royal stamp.

With shaking hands, Lucy slipped her finger under the seal and opened the letter. She carefully unfolded the letter and began to read.

 _Dear, Ms. Lucy Heartfilia,_

 _The King has heard talk of your bakery and would like you to cater the desserts at his Winter Ball this week. A coach will arrive at your quarters by Monday, and you should arrive by Tuesday evening. You will be riding in the same carriage as Mr. Gray Fullbuster, an ice sculpture who has attended many royal balls. Please be sure to choose your best dress and recipes, you may use the servants in the kitchen for assistance and you may bring along anyone who assists you in your bakery in Magnolia. Should you need any specific ingredients, the servants will bring them to you upon request._

 _We await your arrival,_

 _Sincerely, King's Assistant._

Lucy's grip on the letter went slack and the paper floated down to the desk, the letters staring back at her as she gaze at it in shocked silence. Before she could even begin to react, numerous knocks could be heard from the front door downstairs. Lucy stood up and floated downstairs, her face set straight, eyes wide in pure disbelief.

When she opened the door she saw Gray standing there, he was out of breath and in his hand was a letter. He had probably received the same letter as her, "Lucy! Did you... get your letter?" He panted out, gasping for air, he coughed from how cold the air was and when he saw her face he laughed. "I'd take that as a yes," he let himself in and closed the door for Lucy, shed his own coat and set his hands on her shoulder, "Snap out of it, Lucy, it's not a dream!"

"I... was invited... to the castle," Lucy mumbled, and then as if she couldn't even believe her own words repeated them, "I- I was invited to the castle! OHMYGOD, GRAY!" She shrieked and jumped up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, "I can't believe this, this is actually happening. Are you sure it's not a dream? Pinch me, I'm not convinced!"

Gray did as told and snorted when she yelped and rubbed her arm where he'd pinched her. "You excited?" He stupidly asked, already knowing the answer.

"Excited!? Gray, I'm ecstatic! Oh, goodness, I have nothing to wear." She blurted, lifting a hand to run through her blonde hair, then a little confused she tipped her head to the side, "Wait, how did you know I was also invited?"

Rolling his eyes Gray looked at Lucy as if the answer was obvious, in which this case it was, "Lucy, didn't your letter mention my name? My letter told me you'd be riding with me in the carriage up to the castle. The travel time will be a two days, you sure you're ready for this? They don't make very many stops."

"Gray, I'm still trying to get over my shock about seeing the royal crease, I haven't gotten close to getting over my surprise of the letter. In no way am I ready," Lucy laughed, continuing to run her hand through her hair. By now it was a mess, pieces falling out of the side ponytail she'd tied it up in.

Nodding his head, Gray could understand how Lucy felt. It was quite similar to how he had felt, but his reaction had been way more hectic. He had been so excited that he couldn't contain himself and called Erza to spar with him to help him work off his enthusiasm. She did a perfect job, too. Erza had beat him senseless and afterwards he was far more exhausted than he was excited, but still very eager.

Remembering how Lucy mentioned she was worried about not having a dress to wear, Gray scoffed, "Don't worry about not have a fancy enough dress, the people at the castle will be able to get one for you. They usually provide me with some suits specially tailored for me."

"Yes, but Gray, you've been there many times before, I, on the other hand, have not! What if they can't find a dress for me?" Lucy worried, but her worry quickly turned into excitement all over again, "Oh! Just wait until Juvia hears about this, she'll get to come with us since she's my assistant! The letter said I could bring anyone who assists me in my bakery. Oooh, she's going to be thrilled!"

"It's going to be very cramped in that carriage," Gray sighed, but smiled anyway, "So, how about we start discussing what we'll do for our free time? There's a lot to see up in Crocus. I already have ideas of places that you and Juvia both would love to see."

Clapping her hands together, Lucy dragged Gray into the livingroom where the two sat dow and discussed plans. She couldn't wait to write about this to her father, she knew he would be very proud of her. With a gentle flutter in her heart, Lucy also knew that her mother would be just as excited as her. Layla would definitely be hugging her daughter and probably wiping some joyful tears from her eyes, whispering words like "You've worked so hard, you deserve this and so much more, darling."

* * *

As Lucy was running to Natsu and Happy's cave, she wasn't even aware of how the clouds were covering the sliver of moon in the sky, she was far too elated to share her news with her friends! She was able to sneak out after sending Gray, Gajeel, Cana, Laxus, and Mirajane home after they stormed her apartment for a celebration of her being invited to the winter ball! Erza and Levy were very excited for her, and Juvia had fainted when she learned that she was going to be able to go as well. When she came to and was back to normal, she shyly asked Gray if he would dance with her and much to everyones' surprise he answered "We'll see..." which, in Gray's language, meant "Yes."

She couldn't wait to hear Natsu and Happy's reaction, they would be so excited for her, she just knew it! Without even realizing it, Lucy was slowing to a stop in the mouth of their cave. Had she really been running that fast?

"Natsu! Happy!" She cupped her hands around mouth and called, "I have wonderful news, you have to hear this!" A cheerful giggled bubbled through her lips and she twirled around. She felt as she'd been floating on a cloud ever since receiving that letter!

When she didn't get a response, Lucy rose a brow. Only then did she realize that moon was hidden behind the clouds and its light was blocked from shining on the world below. Pursing her lips, Lucy kicked a rock and took a step back.

"Look, Natsu, I know this isn't a good night for you, but... could you please listen? I don't care what form you're in... you'll always be my friend," Lucy whispered, staring deep into the cave. It was a few minutes before two big eyes flew open, glowing green in the darkness of the cave. With a gentle smile, Lucy lifted her hand and waved, "Hey."

There was a flash of blue and when Lucy turned her head, Happy was perched on her shoulder, "What's the news, Lucy? Did your friend master baking!? Do we get to taste them?"

Giggling, Lucy shook her head, "No, even better! I was invited to cater at the Royal Winter Ball this year! Isn't that wonderful!?" She grabbed Happy by the paws and started waltzing with on the spot. If Natsu had been in his human form, she would have grabbed hold of him and dance, but she could make due with the blue feline.

She slowed her dancing and when she turned to face Natsu again, she was shocked to see him staring at her. There was a mass of emotions swimming in his sharp eyes, but the only ones that she could identify were anger and fear. What she didn't know, though, was why.

"Natsu?" She urged, "What's wrong?" she stepped forward and place her hand on his snout, nearing him when she felt how warm his scales were.

The dragon huffed and recoiled from her touch, which made her heart hurt in a way she couldn't explain.

"Lucy... Natsu doesn't want you to go," Happy translated.

Shocked, Lucy faltered and took a step back, "And why not?!"

Silence.

"He's... not going to answer," Happy whispered.

"W-well, I-" Lucy couldn't form words, "Hmmph! This is the rudest treatment I have ever received from you! I thought you would be excited! I thought you would encourage me to go, but nope, you're telling me stay, and why is that?" Lucy pestered, leaning to try and find where he'd hidden his face, but she couldn't tell how exactly he was positioned from the way he was curled up in his cave.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Lucy wrinkled her nose, "Oh, I bet it's because you don't want to be alone on the nights that I'll be gone! You think I'm going to stay in Crocus and live there, don't you?"

"Lucy, please," Happy whimpered, flying down and tugging on the back of her coat, "stop, this isn't funny. There's a lot of reasons as to why he doesn't want you to go."

Lucy whirled around to look at the winged cat, "Well, please, enlighten me. Why shouldn't I go? Why should I stay here and ignore the fact that the King of Fiore himself wants me present at his Winter Ball?"

When Happy didn't respond, Lucy scoffed.

"Oh, right, secrets. I'll just add that to the list of things you guys won't tell me," taking a deep breath, Lucy frowned, feeling extremely hurt, "Look... I'll be back in a week or so, I promise I'll come back, okay? I have to go, this is... this is like a dream come true. I've never been invited to something so big and this would be so great for business! I promise I won't leave you guys. I- I will... ah," She sniffled, trying her best to swallow the lump in throat and mentally cursed herself for starting to cry, "I'll see you then. Bye, Natsu... Happy..."

Wiping her tears away she sulked back through the woods, stopping once or twice to look over her shoulder and silently wondering why Natsu didn't want her to go, or why he was set on keeping so many secrets. Sending a whispered wish to the stars above, Lucy continued her walk home. When Erza asked why Lucy looked so depressed, the blonde simply said that she was tired from the party and all the excitement.

* * *

 **OH YEAH GUESS WHO WAS ABLE TO KEEP THEIR WORD AND UPDATE WITHIN A WEEK!? THAT'S RIGHT THIS GIRL! You guys don't know how happy I am that I was able to update so quickly! I usually get soooo distracted with other things or have homework or just don't feel like writing. It sUCKS!**

 **-dances- I updaaaateddd~~~**

 **Sorry I'm just very proud of myself ahahaha**

 **ANyways, time to answer some guest reviews ^^**

 **brooke315 - Well, I only apologize for writer's block because it happens to me _so_ much and it's ridiculous :/ I'm glad you were happy with that update last week though! and look I was able to change my "hopefully next week update" into a "definite next week update"! Let's just hope I can do it again pfft!**

 **Also it's super weird to be writing something that's taking place during Christmas even though it's April ._. sometimes when I'm typing up the new chapter, I'll get a Christmas song stuck in my head.**


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